Hero to Zero
by lam1nat0r
Summary: My first fanfic. When a maniac threatens to destroy everything people hold dear, one person stands strong. But how strong can he be when the entire world turns on him?
1. Chapter 1

Hello all. This is actually my first fanfiction ever, which I wrote a few years back. My style's changed quite a bit since then, but since I decided to open this account, I figured that I'd start off from my roots. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. If I did, the franchise would've gone under years back.

Hero to Zero

It was a hot day, and the sun bore down hot onto Slate's neck. Slate was on a mission. He was to stop a criminal from possibly causing a revolution in the balance of power in the Pokemon world. At age 19, he was one of the younger League champions, and he was proud of it. With him, he carried his prize party of Pokemon, Pokemon he had spent countless hours with, training them to reach their very limits. Months after the beginning of his journey, the fruits of his labor paid off, and together with his party, he defeated the reigning League champ in a startling victory. His party had yet to change to date. Today, he carried with him his Salamence, Lapras, Pikachu, Sceptile, and Dugtrio, each trained to terrifying extremes. Of course, there was also his starting Pokemon, the one Pokemon who had been with him through it all, Silver the Metagross.

Slate was a unique trainer. The resident professor had seen his abilities when he handled a runaway Pokemon incident with ease, almost lazily. Because of this incident, Slate was given a unique Pokemon, a silver Beldum. The odd coloration of his Beldum led to its name, Silver. Silver was originally a rather weak Pokemon, evolving into an average Metang. But after months of work, Silver's potential finally shone through, and it evolved into the powerful Metagross that Slate was known for. Its Meteormash was unmatched in battle, and its Psychic trapped enemies while slowly crushing them.

Slate rushed towards the old abandoned power plant near Lavendar Town. As he ran, he recalled the conversation with the League Chairman he had earlier that week.

"Slate, sit down please."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now, this may be a shock to you, so sit tight please. Now, it has come to our attention that a known criminal, Hunt, has been working on a machine that can amplify a Pokemon's power by nearly tenfold. However, recent news stated something even more startling. He has completed work on this machine, and has threatened to use it unless we comply with him."

Slate was silent.

"We need you to go rout him out. Only you have the ability to take this menace down. I never set eyes on as talented a trainer as you in my life. Please, you're our last hope."

Slate remembered the look in the chairman's eyes. They were filled with hope, but fear at the same time. He gritted his teeth. Hunt wasn't getting away with this.

A short while afterwards, Slate arrived at the Power Plant. On first look, it seemed empty enough, but it housed a device that threatened to destroy the balance of nature. It had to be stopped. He stepped gingerly into the darkness. The lighting was dim, and he grabbed Silver's Poke Ball instinctively. Wait a second, he thought, there isn't supposed to be lighting here at all! Eyes glared at him from all directions. Slate stepped warily around them. The last thing he needed was a horde of angry electric types attacking him. Eventually, he found his way to the control room. The sight shocked him.

A machine stood in the center of the room. It let out a low ominous hum as it worked. "So this is the amplifier," Slate mused. "Yes it is, old friend. And you're just in time to see it work too!" a voice boomed from out of nowhere. Slate whirled around to see a tall lean man smirking at him. It was Hunt. "What do you think you're doing here?" challenged Slate. "Nothing much yet, but I assure you, something's going to happen soon, and you won't want to miss it," came the reply. "I won't let you do this, you know," Slate said. "Then come and get me..."

At that, Hunt sent out his two Pokemon of choice. The first was the powerful Alakazam. As it opened its eyes, one could see hatred and anger pouring out of it. "Kazaam," it hissed. His second was the epitome of the beast. Everything about it exuded pure power. "Tyrannitar!" it roared, shaking the framework of the room. Slate threw his Pokemon into the mix as well. From his two Poke Balls emerged his Salamence, who roared its defiance at Hunt, and his signature Silver. The Pokemon stared each other down, each not willing to back down to its opponent. Then, it began.

"Salamence, Dragon Claw on Alakazam, Silver, Earthquake!" Slate commanded. The dragon swooped in with its right claw glowing brightly. Before it could make contact, a giant tail smashed it into the ground as the Metagross unleashed its attack. Giant shockwaves crashed through the ground, rattling both Tyrannitar and Alakazam. That wasn't all though. Salamence, still under the fierce Pokemon's tail, felt the brute force of the attack as well. "Damn it," Slate cursed under his breath. "How the hell do I deal with this?" Then, he realized. "If Plan A doesn't work, then let's go to plan B... Salamence, Hydro Pump, Silver, Psychic!" Salamence wrenched itself from under Tyrannitar, and flew back over to Slate's side of the field before unleashing the powerful water attack. Before it made contact, though, it suddenly swerved to create a giant tornado around the rock type. "What the hell?" Hunt screamed. The tornado crashed inwards, blasting the rock type unconscious. Hunt cursed as he recalled his fallen Pokemon. "Now! Silver, use Agility and Meteormash! End this!" Silver zoomed towards the Psy Pokemon with its arm extended before it. All of a sudden, the Alakazam disappeared, and reappeared behind Silver before letting fly a powerful Psybeam. The attack pinned Silver to the ground. A fearful shriek erupted, and Salamence came in with a powerful Crunch attack. Once more, Alakazam disappeared and reappeared, only this time, it let Salamence with a full Ice Punch. Slate smiled, to Hunt's utter confusion. Then, a giant swoosh was heard.

Silver brought its arm in a full Meteormash, smashing Alakazam into the ground. Then, the machine started whining uncontrollably. Hunt laughed and said, "It's here." Then, small thumps accompanied by small tremors rocked the room. "W-What's happening?" Slate wondered. Then, the door flew off its hinges. An Electrode rolled in, to his utter surprise. What happened next caught him off guard. It blew apart the establishment with a mighty explosion attack. Slate had barely enough time to call back his Pokemon. Staring at Hunt with hatred, he shouted, "This is your doing!" "Yes it was, and this was only the beginning." Hunt laughed hysterically before disappearing along with the machine and Alakazam. Slate ran for his life, while the building collapsed behind him. There was to be a reckoning for this...


	2. Chapter 2

Hm, so I've noticed just how bad the formatting on is, so I've taken steps to reformat what I've put out to make it look better/just plain easier to read. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon.

Slate pulled himself from the wreckage, cursing at his inability to stop Hunt's plot. He stared back at what used to be the Power Plant, now nothing more than a pile of rubble. "I can't let something like this happen again," he thought to himself. "A normal Explosion shouldn't have completely destroyed a building… I need some more information. This machine seems way too powerful. If it affected wild Pokémon, territory fights could escalate into utter war… The entire balance of nature would be thrown off. I have to stop this…" At that, he ran in the other direction, towards the Pokémon center near Rock Tunnel to have his Salamence and Silver healed.

At the center, Slate wasted no time calling up the League Chairman. He explained the entire issue, down to the massive Explosion that leveled the plant. After the explanation, the older man cleared his throat. "This is getting dangerous, Slate. I want you to proceed with caution, because anything and everything can happen. You saw how powerful he was in battle, and with that machine, he can amplify that power to unbelievable levels. If you don't want to do this…" "No, sir, this is something I have to do. I started this, and I'll be the one to end this," Slate interjected. "Very well… If I might say, Slate, I never regretted putting you on this assignment, and now, I see more than ever that you deserve this position. Be careful." He hung up.

Just then, the chimes indicating his Pokémon were fully restored rang through the center, and Slate hurried to the counter to pick them up, thanking the nurse while he was at it, then rushing out the door. Calling out his Salamence, Slate decided to head to Saffron City, where he would be able to learn more about the technology and how to combat it. Climbing onto the dragon, he hung on tightly as it wheeled joyously through the night sky, reveling in the sheer joy of flight.

Upon landing in Saffron, Slate wasted no time in going to Silph Corp. He knew a few people around there, and could easily find out how the machine worked. When he stepped inside the building, though, he automatically knew something was wrong. The lobby was deserted, and the lights were off. This never happened. There was always somebody at the counter to help that poor lost soul who would inevitably walk in to try and weasel their way into a tour.

Grabbing a Poké Ball from the clips about his waist, he tensed up and closed his eyes. He could hear a strange rustling, followed by a hissing noise. Opening his eyes, he tossed out the Ball in his hand, calling out, "Flash!" His Pikachu emerged from the ball and immediately summoned a ball of light around itself, illuminating the area. The sounds he heard were coming from a Seviper, and a big one at that. Before he could think, the Seviper lunged at the duo with a deadly Poison Tail attack.

Pikachu's reaction was instantaneous. He immediately let off a Thunderbolt attack in hopes of stopping the Seviper's charge. The Fang Snake Pokémon simply plowed through the attack with its Poison Tail, slamming Pikachu into Slate. The Thunderbolt attack had other effects though. Some stray bolts of electricity hit the lights in the ceiling, jumping the circuit. A low humming sound immediately started up within the room, as the company's generators began to pump juice into the circuitry. Now that he had a better idea of the surroundings, Slate began to work out a strategy. The Seviper then let out a powerful Sludge Bomb attack, barraging Pikachu with the balls of sludge. "Pikachu, use Agility, and combine it with Double Team!" Slate shouted.

Pikachu immediately began to speed around the giant snake, moving so fast that only a blur could be seen. The Fang Snake began trying to swipe at the small agile mouse, but couldn't hit such fast and small target. That wasn't the brute of Pikachu's attack though. As it sped about, it left afterimages of itself in its wake. Soon, the Seviper was surrounded by Pikachu images, and couldn't tell which one was real, and which was fake. To add onto the confusion, the clones were dashing around, over, and under the snake, rendering it totally confused. "Now, blast him with a Thunderbolt!" Slate shouted.

The army of Pikachus stopped in place only to lunge towards Seviper, letting out a large trail of electrical sparks in its path. The sparks clung to Seviper, effectively paralyzing it. "Now, let's end this! Iron Tail!" The clones and Pikachu leapt up high into the air, their tails glowing with the attack. Coming back down, Pikachu began spinning, the clones merging into it, and began to execute the attack. Helplessly caught within the storm of sparks, Seviper could do nothing as Pikachu brought its tail down between its eyes in a vicious Iron Tail. Slammed into the ground, the Seviper passed out, with Pikachu standing triumphant over its head. "Great job, Pikachu! Now let's try and find the guys," Slate commended his Pokémon. With Pikachu on his shoulder, Slate dashed up the stairs.

After thoroughly inspecting the first 5 floors, Slate ground to a halt on the 6th floor, panting to catch his breath. He hadn't slept in nearly a day, and it was taking its toll. His Pikachu tapped him concernedly, but Slate shook it off. Looking around him, he noticed that one of the rooms had a locked door, with a keypad input and a blinking red light. Using a trick he learned from a friend, he had Pikachu use Thunder Wave on the keypad. The light blinked green, and Slate ran into the room. He nearly tripped over the scientists bound and gagged on the floor. Looking down, he saw that they were the people he was looking for, and wasted no time in cutting their bonds.

"Gee, thanks there Slate, I owe you one," said a red haired man. "Yeah, seriously, I thought we were in for it," added a brown haired woman. These were Bob and Mary, two geniuses who worked for Silph Co. "I suppose you know about the amplifying machine," Bob said. "Yeah, I was wondering if you two could tell me some more about it," Slate replied. "It's a long story, guy, you're gonna want to sit down," said Mary. When they were seated, Bob and Mary began to relate the story.

"You're aware of how the attack Focus Energy works, aren't you? Well, let me explain it anyways. Basically, it causes a Pokémon to focus each of its attacks to try and increase the power behind it. In essence, the Pokémon's getting pumped. Big time. Now, this machine of Hunt's works on the same principle. It forces a Pokémon to focus its power into each attack, just like Focus Energy does. But it increases the power of the attack many times over, much more than your conventional Focus Energy attack. The results, though, are disastrous. It completely depletes a Pokémon, and if used too much, can cause so much stress that it can kill the Pokémon in question. It's the perfect weapon, sure, but is it worth it?"

Slate took a moment to absorb the information. "So how do I fight these beefed up Pokémon?" he asked. "I wish I could tell you that, old friend, but I can't. Nobody can. The only way somebody can stop the Pokémon that have been powered up by the machine is by knocking it out in battle. This ought to disrupt the connection between Pokémon and machine, and it should return to normal," relayed Bob. "Hmm, alright, I'll keep that in mind," Slate said, as he got up. "Thanks for the scoop guys, I appreciate it." "Slate, be careful. This is a dangerous mission," Mary said softly. With a nod and a hint of a smile, Slate walked out of the room and headed for the first floor and the exit. "I hope he's going to be OK," Mary said. "Don't worry, he's been through worse," Bob said. "We have to keep up our hope."

Walking out of the building, Slate began talking to Pikachu. "So, now we know what we're going up against. Superfocused Pokémon, huh? I think we can handle it." Pikachu squeaked in agreement. All of a sudden, the ground under them began to rumble and crack. "What's going on here?" he shouted. Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, sparking in anger. Then, all hell broke loose when a Steelix erupted from the ground in front of him. "No way… Pikachu, take him out! Brick Break!" Pikachu flew in towards the giant metallic serpent, but was countered by a powerful Iron Tail. The attacks bounced off each other, and Pikachu was sent flying into Slate's hands. "Time for plan B! Pikachu, use Quick Attack to surround him! Then, hit him with a Surf attack!"

Normally, Pikachu couldn't learn Surf, but after much training, Slate and Pikachu managed to master the attack. Pikachu zoomed around the Steelix, forcing it to rear up. Then, the small rodent screwed up its face in concentration, calling up water necessary for the Surf attack. From deep underground, a deep gurgling became a rumbling. Then, waves of water burst from deep within the ground, where the earth, loosened by the Steelix's mad rampage through the Earth's crust, was better able to yield the water it held. The Steelix was completely swamped by the attack. "Now, while he's wet! Thunder!" Pikachu, taking a second to focus the energy needed to unleash the attack, sent volt after volt of electricity surging through the now wet Steelix, who had lost its immunity to the electric type attacks after being soaked. A large explosion of steam blasted through the area, sending Pikachu flying back.

Slate ran to his Pokémon and picked it up. "You OK there buddy?" he asked. "Pika!" it squeaked back. Just then, a giant glowing tail came from out of nowhere to slam the ground near Slate, throwing him to the side with Pikachu. "What the-?" He was cut off by the load roar of anger in the Steelix. "This can't be happening… Any other Pokémon would have been fainted by such a powerful attack. How?" Slate wondered. Then, the Steelix came in for another charge, this time with its tail on target. Slate could do nothing but stare at the impending doom.

Hopefully, this was more enjoyable than the last chapter. Looking back on this story, I can see that my writing was really immature 2 years ago. Nowadays, I've really gotten further into my writing (when I have the time to write). Anyways, drop a review!

Also, can anybody tell me how to get these horizontal rulers to work? Much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

I just realized how horribly I've been neglecting my account. College work's really caught up to me, and I haven't even had the time to even format a story I've written a long time ago. That and Dawn of the New World (Awesome awesome game) have really killed me. Anyways, I've realized how terrible my formatting's been as of late, and therefore, I'm going through each chapter hereafter and changing it around. Hopefully, it'll be easier to read.

Chapter 3

Slate watched with horror as the giant tail approached him. His Pikachu, however, had other ideas. It jumped to the side out of Slate's arms, only to come back with a powerful Quick Attack on Steelix's tail. The impact, while nowhere near enough to knock out Steelix, was able to knock its tail off course.

The attack slammed into the ground next to Slate, knocking him to the side. Steelix, now extremely angry, turned its attention to the exhausted Pikachu lying on the floor. With a sweep of its tail, it swatted the electric mouse into a wall. Preparing for the final strike, it positioned its tail so that the point would impale the small Pokémon. Slate was not about to let this happen.

Ripping one of the Balls from his waist, he tossed it out, shouting, "Sheer Cold, full force!" From the Poké Ball emerged a Pokémon not unlike the Loch Ness monster. Opening its mouth, Lapras began to glow a light harsh blue. From its mouth erupted a cold blast of icy particles, all surrounded by the same blue aura.

Just before Steelix brought its Iron Tail attack down in its death sentence for Pikachu, the Sheer Cold attack collided with it, instantaneously freezing it into a block, while turning the ground around Slate and the Pokémon to a sheet of slippery ice from the Surf attack previously. The Steelix, now frozen in an ice block, tipped over and fell with a resounding crash, the ice encasing it shattering.

The trainer slipped and slid over the slick surface in his attempt to reach his injured Pokémon. Gently gathering his Pikachu into his arms, he murmured, "Thanks, old friend. You deserve a long break, you've truly earned it." Pulling out its Poké Ball, Slate recalled his friend, and put him to his waist. He did the same for Lapras.

Looking around him, he could see nothing but destruction. The ground was strewn with rubble from the battle, and it looked like other parts of the city were being attacked as well. He realized that if he stayed in the city any longer, he would join the Steelix on the ground, and resolved to retreat to another quieter city to plan out his next move and to track down Hunt.

This was undoubtedly his handiwork. No Pokémon could have withstood the combination of Surf and Thunder without being pumped up by some external force. Calling his Salamence out, he decided to fly to the island city of Cinnabar, where an attack would be much harder. The dragon, glad to fly once more, took to the air faster than a speeding bullet.

Later, at the Cinnabar Island Pokémon Center, where his Pikachu as well as his other Pokémon were being treated, Slate decided to watch the news. What he saw was completely unexpected. Glaring headlines stated, "City Under Attack, League Champion Fails." A grim faced reporter was giving the full story.

"Today, Saffron City came under attack by a group of Pokémon led by some unknown force. Inside information tells us that our League Champion, Slate, fought one such Pokémon and lost miserably. He was forced to flee the scene, leaving behind him a city devastated by Pokémon attacks. People are now losing morale, seeing their Champion not only fail, but run away, and are losing faith in the Champ. More to come."

Around him, people began to eye Slate uneasily. Quickly pulling his jacket over his head, he strode swiftly from the room. After walking outside, he decided to take a stroll on the beach. As walked along the seashore, he began to reflect on the events that happened that day. In one day, he was humiliated and crushed by his enemy, not only once, but twice. People around the region were losing faith in him, and were calling him an outcast.

In one day, he had gone from hero to zero. Confused and hurt, he kicked the sand viciously, screaming and shouting while doing so. Eventually, he came to his knees, tired and hungry. He realized that until this threat came to an end, there was no way that he could redeem himself in the eyes of those who once believed in him. He decided to call the League Chairman.

In the center, he found a private booth, and dialed the number. The Chair picked up after the first ring, and on seeing Slate's sad and tired face, immediately began to voice his concern over his welfare. Slate waved it off.

"Mr. Chairman, sir, I have bad news. Today, not only have I lost twice, but the people are beginning to lose faith in me, and as a result, the League. If this morale drop continues, we could be seeing more attacks like the one in Saffron working against us. I really don't know what to do anymore, sir."

"Slate, look at me. You're tired, and you've been through a lot today. Go to sleep, and we'll discuss this in the morning. Understood?" Slate nodded an affirmative, and closed the link.

On the way to his room, the nurse intercepted him, and handed him his Pokémon. Quietly thanking her, he walked into his room. Sending out his Pikachu, he apologized for making it go through the Steelix ordeal. It gave a nonchalant "Pika!" and nuzzled Slate. Laughing, Slate called it back to its Ball. Without another word, he slunk into bed, and let the blissful unawareness of sleep take over him.

The next day, Slate woke up completely refreshed. He was no longer the defeated person from last night. He was determined, and now he had a purpose, to gain the reputation of the League back from Hunt. Calling the Chair, he formulated a plan. If you couldn't beat 'em, join 'em.

He was going to go to ground, and infiltrate the underground battling ring in hopes of finding Hunt and ultimately defeating him. It was a dangerous call, but if it worked, Hunt would be brought down and ultimately to justice. However, the trainers in the underground ring were considerably stronger than your ordinary trainer, and Slate would need to give it his all in each and every battle he entered. He was ready, though, and with some last words from the Chair, embarked to Celadon City, where the underground ring was supposedly the densest, finding its base in the old Rocket Hideout under the Rocket Game Corner.

When he landed in Celadon, his first priority was to try to mingle with the crowd in the Rocket Game Corner and gain their trust. His face was too noticeable, so he needed to play it safe. He finally found what appeared to be a bouncer in the Corner, and said, "Hey, I want to get in on some of these battles."

The bouncer looked him up and down, and said, "Well, if it ain't the boss's enemy. What's a do-gooder like you doing here?" "Hey, didn't you watch the news? I'm not the champ you think I'm anymore. I'm here just 'cause I want to battle. Now you gonna let me in, or am I going to have to do so myself?" The bouncer thought for a second. Then, he stepped to the side. "Watch your step, kid." Slate stepped into the unknown.

A blast of light and sound met him as he walked into the stands of a giant colosseum. In the ring were two trainers, each using one Pokémon. The trainer in the green box was using a tough looking Aggron, while the trainer in the red box was using a fearsome Gyarados. The Aggron came in for a Double Edge attack, slamming Gyarados into a wall before smashing it with a powerful Mega Punch attack.

Gyarados struck back with a devastating Strength attack, followed by an Earthquake attack. The seismic waves ripped through Aggron, though it held with some help from a last second Iron Defense. It then rushed in with an Iron Tail, pinning Gyarados to the ground. Then, it smashed the ground around it in a giant Rock Slide attack, sending Gyarados into throes of pain.

To finish, Aggron focused its energy into a final Hyper Beam, completely obliterating any resistance from Gyarados. It roared its triumph to the crazed crowd, who chanted the name of the trainer.

Slate wiped away the sweat on his brow. These battles were truly intense, and he could not afford to make any mistakes. "See these battles here? This was just a taste of what you're gonna get, Champion," a teen mockingly said. "Who was that?" "That was Crighton. He's the current favorite. His Aggron's unstoppable. Think you can take him?"

"Watch me." At that, Slate stepped into the arena. "Chrighton, I challenge you and your Aggron to a Single Battle." Chrighton smirked and nodded, confident in his ability to win. The two stepped to their respective rings, with Chrighton in the Green and Slate in the Red.

"Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you, Champion," Chrighton taunted before calling his Aggron to the field. "Don't worry, I won't," gritted Slate. He threw a Poké Ball into the arena, from which emerged his Sceptile in a blaze of light.

"Scept!" the Forest Pokémon called out. "This will be a one on one match, with no time limit. Are the trainers ready?" the referee called out. The trainers nodded, and the referee raised his hands. "Then, begin!"

"Aggron, Fire Blast!" Chrighton called out. At once, the giant Iron Armor Pokémon spat out a large star of fire. "Sceptile, Leaf Blade to counter!" called Slate. The blades on Sceptile's arms began to glow, and it brought them into a defensive position.

The Fire Blast attack crashed onto the glowing green blades, threatening to burn Sceptile to a crisp, but the Pokémon stood its ground, struggling to overcome the attack. "Now, Focus Punch!" commanded Chrighton.

Aggron began tightening its focus, a sphere of light appearing around its fist as it did so. With a roar, it began running at Sceptile. The grass Pokémon had just managed to divert the flames with its Leaf Blade, and was recovering from the attack. Aggron loomed over Sceptile, roaring in triumph as it brought the fist down into Sceptile's chest. There was nothing it could do.

Hopefully you liked that. I'm going to be loading this stuff more frequently, and therefore, you might have something to look forward to (or look forward to hating). Leave a review!


	4. Chapter 4

Hm, I've been incredibly overloaded with work. Regardless, I'll stick up the remainder of this story soon. After all, it was finished over 2 years ago. Currently, I'm working on another piece, so I guess you can expect that soon. Anyways, here's chapter 4!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon.

Chapter 4

Sceptile reeled in pain from the hit, and flew backwards, collapsing into a pile as it hit the ground. Gritting his teeth, Slate called out to his Pokémon, hoping it could stand and fight. The grass type immediately stood up, but grasped its chest in pain. The Aggron was now coming in for an Iron Tail attack.

Slate called for a Detect attack, followed by a Leech Seed. Sceptile's eyes glowed a bright blue as it jumped harmlessly over the giant tail. Once in the air, it spat out a seed that lodged into Aggron's back. Vines immediately began to sprout from it, wrapping themselves around Aggron, and sapping its energy. Chrighton cursed, but kept a steady face.

"Aggron, use Aerial Ace!" The giant Pokémon disappeared into thin air, to Sceptile's surprise, before reappearing behind it and slamming it into the ground with a powerful smash. Unable to take the strain anymore, Sceptile passed out, giving Chrighton and Aggron the victory.

"No…" Slate whispered, as he called back his defeated Pokémon. "You aren't going to beat me that easily, kid," jeered Chrighton. Slate stepped away from the ring and out the door. He emerged in a large underground city. Blinking in the sudden appearance of the neon lights, he walked dejectedly towards a hotel.

After booking himself a room, he put his Pokémon into the recovery machines that came standard in every room. He sat and thought about his loss for a bit. That Aggron was powerful, and his Sceptile's speed and power stood no chance against its brute force. He resolved that if he was to beat Chrighton, he needed to beat him at his own game. Then, somebody knocked on the door.

"Come in," he called out. A staff member walked in and said, "Sir, you have some company waiting for you downstairs. Please come down as soon as possible." Nodding, Slate grabbed his Pokémon, now fully restored, and went down to the lobby. A group of men in black suits came up to him. "Well now, Mr. Champion, we have some words for you," said a tall one.

"Do you now?" Slate asked. "Why are you here?" asked the shortest one, mincing his words. "I just want to battle," Slate said. "Is there a problem?" "Oh, no, there isn't. But if you do, you're going to have to up your game. Chrighton was only one of the trainers you'll be facing. He's one of the weaker ones. Think you can handle it?" said a particularly fat one.

The words sounded familiar, and Slate ground his teeth in frustration. "Watch me," he said, once more. "Well then, I believe we have a contender. I'll have you know that today's match was, in fact, illegal. You weren't registered. If you want to continue battling, you're going to have to register yourself." "If I do, will I be able to get a rematch with Chrighton?" The fat one nodded. "Count me in, then."

An hour later, Slate stood in the ring once more, facing Chrighton. "Come back for round 2?" the arrogant trainer asked. "Let's just get this over with," came the reply. Calling out Aggron and Sceptile, the Pokémon faced off once more. The referee began his speech, only to be cut off by Slate. "Skip the formalities. Just begin."

The referee stared for a second, before calling the match's beginning. Almost immediately, Sceptile began running towards the Iron Armor Pokémon. Aggron roared in defiance, and swept at the grass type with a strong Metal Claw. Sceptile jumped over it, the blades on its arms glowing bright green. They sliced downwards in a glowing arc, slashing at the Iron Armor Pokémon relentlessly. It was forced to step back under the barrage of slashes.

"Now, Sceptile, use Iron Tail!" Chrighton smirked, and called for a Counter. However, Sceptile surprised him by using Iron Tail on the ground. It propelled itself high into the air, and began to absorb the light coming from the bright lamps surrounding the stadium. Blinded by the bright halogen lamps, all Chrighton and Aggron could see was a streak of darkness against a bright background.

Finished charging, Sceptile shouted as it shot a bright beam of light at the vulnerable Steel/Rock type. The Solarbeam ripped through it, rendering it completely senseless. "Now, end this! Leaf Blade!" Once more, Sceptile brought its blades down, this time between Aggron's horns in a streak of light. Aggron fell slowly, its face a mask of disbelief. "The winner is Slate and Sceptile!" the referee called out. Slate congratulated his Pokémon as he ran to give it a high five. Chrighton merely growled and stepped out of the ring. The crowd went crazy, cheering for Slate as he waved towards it.

Later, Slate walked through the streets of the large underground city. He felt the small card in his pocket that was his Ring ID. This ID let him enter battles in the Ring whenever he wanted to. It was his prize for taking out the crowd favorite in his first official battle. Reflecting on his losses to Hunt, he vowed to take the villain down, no matter what. Looking around him, he watched people running around, into and out of shops.

Children fought over Poké Balls containing strong looking Pokémon, and teens battled it out on the streets with apparent disregard for those around them. Jumping to the side to dodge a Water Gun gone astray, Slate shook his head at the scene of chaos. It was apparent that people here were ruthless and did not care for the rules. Once this was over, he would leave this place behind him forever. He decided to return to his hotel room.

Back in the safety of his room, Slate pulled out his PokéNav. Calling the Chair, he recapped the day's incidents to the older man. After the story was through, the man said, "Good job, Slate. Remember, this is our last hope to restore the League's reputation and to stop that lunatic from injuring more people. You're going to have to approach this carefully. Use that Ring ID with caution, don't make it seem like you're there on League business. You're our last hope. Don't fail us," the older man warned.

"Yes, sir," came the reply. The Chair cut the connection, and the line went dead. Staring at the static ridden screen, he flipped the PokéNav down. He decided to watch TV. The scene aboveground was desperate. Every channel he flipped to had news about more attacks by superpowered Pokémon. "Cerulean City Crumbled Today to Withering Attacks. Killer Beedrill Levelled Pewter City. Viridian City Battle Hall Brought to Rubble." The last headline caught Slate's attention. One of his close friends worked in the Battle Hall, and he was concerned over her welfare. He shook it off though. She was a capable trainer, and could easily handle a Pokémon attack. He brought his attention back to the task at hand.

Currently, he was rather low in the Underground Ring rankings. If he was to face of against Hunt, he would need to climb up the ranks. Hunt would notice, and wouldn't be able to resist the chance to crush Slate in front of all his supporters. No doubt he would be using the amplifying machine as well. That was when Slate would act.

Defeating Hunt would cut off the connection Hunt's Pokémon had with the machine, but would allow Slate to track its location. Then, he could destroy it and put Hunt behind bars, where he belonged. Running through the plans once more, Slate decided to call it a day and, after putting his Pokémon into the recovery machine, went to sleep.

The next day was a Saturday, and many people woke up late that day in hopes of catching sleep missed during the week. Slate was not one of those people. He woke up bright and early to train his Pokémon in the underground park. Very few people were there, and this suited Slate. He preferred to train on his own rather than surrounded by meddling people who would inevitably get in his way with their nagging or suggestions.

His training sessions generally involved his Pokémon trying to match each others' power in terms off attack, defense, and speed. During training, his Pokémon attacked each other into a stalemate between two powerful attacks. But when training was over, his Pokémon were all friends again, patting each other on the back congratulating themselves on a good performance.

That was the way it was supposed to be. After training and a quick shower and go on the machine, Slate and his Pokémon, both fully refreshed, embarked to the stadium to sign up for the weekly tournament. After signing up, he had an hour to burn before the tournament started. He decided to spend it studying his opponents carefully and working out a strategy.

An hour later, he saw himself in the battle ring, facing off against a middle aged woman. She looked tough, and talked the same way. At the signal, she sent out her Pokémon, a powerful looking Metagross. Laughing inwardly, Slate sent out Silver. The two Iron Leg Pokémon stared at each other through unfeeling eyes.

The referee gave the signal to begin, and the woman's Metagross quickly threw a Take Down. Sliding out of the way with Agility, Silver strengthened its defensive power with an Iron Defense. The woman gritted her teeth, and commanded a Meteormash. Slate called a Metal Claw attack, much to her surprise. To her even greater surprise, Silver knocked her Metagross back while avoiding the powerful Steel type attack at the same time.

"What the hell?" she shouted. "Metal Claw may be a weaker attack, but it takes less time to execute too. That's why Silver was able to pound your Metagross before it could get hit," explained Slate. Growling, she called for another Meteormash. Slate decided to humor her, and called for his own Meteormash. Both Metagross brought their arms back, glowing with power, and charged at each other, sparks erupting as they flew.

At the center of the ring, their attacks met. Silver's Meteormash overcame the opponent's easily in a shower of sparks, and slammed its opponent into the ground. Deciding to end the match quickly, Slate called an Earthquake. Slamming its claws into the ground, Silver called on the powerful waves associated with the attack, instantly fainting the enemy and winning him the match. The crowd, silent for a second, erupted into cheers for Slate and jeers for the woman. She ran from the ring crying. Slate simply smirked and walked away from an easy win.

The next few matches went the same way, with his Pokémon easily crushing the opposition. The final match came up quickly, and was to be between Slate and the last person he expected to see there. His old friend from the Battle Hall in Viridian stood in front of him, a shadow of a smile on her face. Slate stuttered as he hailed her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "What does it look like? Making little baskets?" she replied sarcastically. "I thought you were in Viridian, working at the Battle Hall. I was worried…" he said. She didn't reply, but simply walked to her side of the ring. Slate did the same for his side. "This match, between Slate and Gem will begin now. This will be a double battle, the winner of which wins this tournament. Now, if both trainers will call out their Pokémon, we can begin."

Gem, Slate's old friend, sent out her Pokémon of choice. A Starmie and Flygon gracefully took the stage, humming their names. Slate, ready to battle, called out Silver and Salamence, the same combination he first fought against Hunt with. The referee, taking a second to acknowledge the Pokémon sent out, raised his hands and called out, "Begin the match!"

Gem wasted no time calling for a Sand Tomb from her Flygon. Slate, busy thinking about how Gem could have ended up in the Underground circuit, snapped to attention too late. Silver was already taking the brute of the attack. Pushing any thoughts of Gem to the side, he decided to devote his utmost attention to the battle.

"Salamence, use Twister!" he shouted. The dragon began to beat its wings, whipping up air currents that formed a small tornado. "Starmie, use Rapid Spin to counter Twister!" Slate was confused by what Gem meant. Then, Starmie jumped into the center of the tornado formed by Salamence's attack. It immediately initiated the Rapid Spin attack, amplifiying the speed of the winds whipping through the attack but taking no damage while doing it.

"Send it back!" she shouted. Starmie directed its attack towards Salamence. Normally a Rapid Spin would not have done much damage. But this time, it was powered up by the Twister attack it was surrounded by. The giant tornado, Starmie included, spiraled into Salamence, sending it flying into the air, as Silver was shot back by the force of the Sand Tomb.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Slate," Gem said. Slate blinked and looked at his Pokémon, shocked to see the state they were in. He gritted his teeth, and struggled to think of another strategy to break through the defense Flygon and Starmie set up. The two hovered the air, their movements whipping up graceful air currents.

He realized Gem was indeed a powerful trainer, and he would have to take her seriously. "Now, Starmie use Ice Beam! Flygon, Earthquake!" The attacks initiated, and flew towards Salamence and Silver, leaving Slate with only one option. "This better work," he muttered, and called out his command.

Hopefully, this wasn't as bad as I think it is. Anyways, read and drop a review! Those are always helpful.


	5. Chapter 5

Technically, since this entire story's been written (two years ago) and the sequel's actually been written as well, I figure I may as well just post one chapter a day. It all basically comes down to formatting the document, because I originally wrote the entire story in one big file. I've broken this story down, and I'll be doing that to the sequel as well. Regardless, here's Chapter 5!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon.

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"Salamence, use Hyper Beam to destroy the ground in front of you and Silver! Silver, use Psychic to deflect Ice Beam!" Slate called. Salamence concentrated, focusing energy it drew from the environment into a ball of red light. Roaring, it blasted the ground around it, shredding and pulverizing it into dust and rubble. Meanwhile, Silver's eyes began to glow, and the cross on its face began to glow blue as well.

An aura of psychic energy surrounded it and the impending Ice Beam attack, completely immobilizing it. With a bit of effort, it turned the attack back at Flygon, who was still in the middle of executing the Earthquake. Struck by the beam, it instantly froze over, falling to its side as it did. The waves caused by the Earthquake attack hit the ridges in the ground caused by the Hyper Beam, causing a giant explosion as the waves hit the dust and rubble that settled in the ridges.

They dissipated after running out of a medium to flow through, as the ridges were empty. Gem merely stared in surprise at the brilliant, yet desperate counterattack. Slate wasn't done yet. Now that Flygon was open to attack, he called for a Dragon Claw from Salamence. Starmie immediately began an Ice Beam attack to protect its partner in battle, but was stopped by a powerful Take Down from Silver.

The Dragon Claw ripped through the ice sheets and slashed Flygon mercilessly. To finish, Salamence initiated a Steel Wing, pinning Flygon down and knocking it out. Gem could do nothing but stare at the horrid beating Flygon just took. Then, Starmie called out in pain as Silver began a barrage of Metal Claws. Gem decided to change her tactics.

"Starmie, use Rapid Spin now!" she called. To everybody's surprise, Starmie failed to do a thing. Slate, shocked for a second, called a Meteormash to end the battle. The moment before the attack made contact, though, Starmie spun to the left. Silver rocketed out of control, smashing the ground in front of it as its attack missed.

"Now, Blizzard!" she called. Starmie began spinning faster, creating a tornado of cold air and ice particles around it. The tornado started small at first, but grew disproportionately, blowing outwards in an icy show of strength. Salamence and Silver were knocked down, the Dragon/Flying type immediately knocked out by its weakness.

Slate called it back, knowing that the battle was now up to Silver, who now got up after the attack had struck. Gem stood calmly on the other side of the field, contemplating her next move. Slate needed a strategy, and fast. He decided on the tried, but true, hit and run tactic.

"Silver, use Agility and Double Team!" he called, remembering how effective the combination worked against the Seviper. He did not count on Gem's response though. "Starmie, spin and use Swift!" she shouted. As Silver surrounded Starmie, leaving clones behind it as it moved, Starmie's core began to glow slightly.

"Huh? Why isn't Starmie doing a thing?" Slate wondered, then called, "Aerial Ace now!" Silver and the clones doubled back and disappeared for a second. That was when Starmie made its move. Spinning, it showered the field with stars. Blurs appeared throughout the field as Silver's clones, formed by Double Team, disappeared under the rain of bright stars.

Silver, on the other hand, plowed through the Swift attack, and smashed directly into Starmie. It was angry, and was ready to take Starmie out. "Let's end this with Shadow Ball!" Slate shouted. At once, dark energy began to accumulate in a ball from the cross on Silver's face, which sparked threateningly. Starmie was still pinned under Silver, and was in no position to counterattack.

"Swift!" Gem called out desperately, but the Normal type attack did little on Silver's hard carapace. Silver brought the Shadow Ball down directly onto Starmie's core, blasting the entire area with a dark aura. An explosion ripped through the field, kicking up a screen of dust. When it cleared, Starmie laid prone on the ground, with Silver above it. Starmie was knocked out. "The winner is Slate and Silver!" shouted the referee. Slate ran out to embrace Silver for a job well done.

Gem slowly knelt to pick up her fallen Pokémon, bringing it back into its Ball. Slate recalled Silver as well. Gem kneeled on the floor, her head down in dejection. Slate gingerly placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "We need to talk," he mouthed, as the referee raised his other hand in victory. She nodded, and mouthed back, "Over dinner." The referee then dragged him away to the awards ceremony.

Later, after the prize money and trophy were awarded, Gem and Slate found themselves walking down the main avenue of the underground city. Gem, although sad with her loss, was feeling better, enough to the point where she decided to strike up a conversation with Slate. "So Slate," she said. "Where are you living now?"

"Cut the crap, Gem," Slate replied, shocking her. "Slate?" she asked. "Gem, what are you doing here? The last time I saw you, you were in Viridian. You hated the Underground Ring, and would do everything to avoid it. Why the hell are you here now? And why are you a member of the Ring?" Slate shouted. His sudden outburst left Gem speechless. Then, without warning, she broke into tears over his shoulder.

"W-what?" he stuttered as the girl bawled on him. He led the distraught girl to a bench on the edge of the sidewalk, and sat her down. After wiping her tears away, he asked her, "What's the matter? There's more to this story than meets the eye. You can talk to me, I won't tell anybody." After composing herself, she began to relate her story.

"Slate, I always did hate the Ring, and I still hate it. But I have to do this. A while ago, while you were training for the League, this guy cornered me and wanted to fight me. So I battled him. He crushed me and my Pokémon, and sent my Flygon into the ICU of the Pokémon Center. That same guy then challenged another girl, and almost killed her in front of my eyes. I vowed that I wouldn't let something like that happen again, so I decided to come to the Ring to try and find this guy and show him what my Pokémon were made of.

When I got here, I saw all this fighting and chaos, and I realized that if this kept going, other people would get hurt. Back then, I was still a coordinator, and I was hot in the circuit, so I needed to keep moving. But I didn't want to see all these people hurting others. So I decided to stay and fight, to crush these people.

You don't know how happy I was when I heard that you became the League Champion. I was jumping up and down in my apartment. Then, I heard the news of all those attacks and how you fled the scene and I couldn't believe it. The Slate I knew would never do that. Now you're standing in front of me, and I know that you have a reason. Please, just tell me…" She began to cry again as she spoke.

Slate was pained seeing his friend like this, and said softly, "Gem, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. I know how you feel, and I know that you want to stop these monsters from hurting other people. It's alright, Gem. Just cry it out." She looked at him, and fell sobbing onto his shoulder for the second time in ten minutes. He just patted her back, and looked the other way, gritting his teeth.

A few minutes later, she finished crying, and sat back up. "Thanks," she said softly. Drying her eyes, she steeled herself up, and within seconds was back to her normal cheery self. "So, why are you here?" she asked. Looking around him, Slate saw that they were alone. Nonetheless, he spoke softly, and said, "I'm here on a League mission. This guy, Hunt, I don't know if you know him or not, has this machine that can amplify Pokémon abilities. He's been using it to attack cities with these Pokémon that have been driven mad by their power. I'm here to stop him. Please, Gem, you can't tell anybody this."

"Don't worry, Slate, your secret's safe with me," she assured. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Just then, Slate's stomach began growling, breaking the awkward silence. Chuckling nervously, he said, "Guess we never got that dinner, huh?" Gem smiled and shook her head. "Let's find a place," he said, getting up. She followed suit, and they walked down the avenue searching for a restaurant.

They finally found a place that seemed good, and sat down at a table waiting for their orders. While they ate, they talked and laughed as they recounted incidents they encountered during their travels. Finally, Slate walked Gem to her apartment. "Thanks for everything, Slate," Gem said. Slate shook it off with a wave of his hand and a smile. Out of nowhere, Gem hugged Slate gently, and ran into her apartment. Slightly confused, Slate walked out of the hallway and back into the city. Suddenly, a voice spoke from the darkness.

"So, you're looking for Hunt, huh?" Slate wheeled around, trying to find the source of the voice. A young man materialized from the shadows of an alley, smirking malevolently. It was Chrighton. "What do you want?" demanded Slate.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't hurt you. Hunt and his followers might, though, if you're not careful. Honestly, I don't see what the League Chairman sees in you." Slate was dumbfounded. How the hell did this guy know about the League Chairman's thoughts? Chrighton answered the unspoken question. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Chrighton, the League Chairman's right hand man."

As he said this, he held up a League Badge cleverly hidden in his PokéNav. "I don't believe you," Slate said. "Prove it." "Oh, I won't have to. But this might," came the reply. At that, he held up a small League issue videophone, with the League Chairman's beaming face showing on it. "Ah yes, Slate, I forgot to tell you. I had Chrighton here investigating the Ring. I hope you two can work together. Chrighton's a rather bright young man, and I'm sure you two will find each others' talents quite useful. Why-"

The Chair was cut off by a phone ringing in the background. "Excuse me," he said. Then, he turned back, hurt stamped all over his face. "You didn't trust me, did you," he asked Slate. "I had to make sure," Slate said, as he held up his PokéNav, which was currently connected to the Chair's other line. "Well, whatever the case, I want you two to work together."

"Yes, sir," said the two. The line went dead. Slate turned to face Chrighton.

"I still don't trust you," he said.

"You have no need to. Just make sure you don't get in my way," came the reply.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means we're not partners."

Slate growled, as he ground out his choice words. "Listen to me, you little prick. You and I are going to work together on this, and we're going to expose Hunt for all he is. Do you hear me?" Chrighton was silent. Then, without a word, he walked away. "Hey!" Slate called after him. "What the hell?" he shouted. Then came the reply. "I'll see you in the ring at 8 AM tomorrow. Make sure you're ready for a battle."

Slate was left grinding his teeth. How could two people be so different? Gem was kind and sweet, the kind of person everybody liked, although he may have had a certain soft spot for her. Meanwhile, Chrighton was the epitome of the jerk. Shaking thoughts of both from his mind, he decided to go back to his hotel room and give both himself and his Pokémon a good night's sleep. He would deal with everything else in the morning.

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I still have no clue how to get those scene transition bars to work, so I'm just using a double-dash for now. If anybody could help me with that, it'd be much appreciated. Anyways, leave a review!


	6. Chapter 6

So, in keeping with what I said last chapter, I'm putting up a chapter a day, just so that I can say I've completed this story. On the plus side, I've finally figured out how to use those pesky horizontal rulers, so that's a plus. Anyways, here's chapter 6!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon.

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Slate woke up in the morning, fully refreshed and ready to battle. Gathering his Pokémon, he brushed his teeth quickly. As he stepped out the door of his hotel room, though, an explosion rocked the underground city. Looking in the direction of the smoke, he realized with a start that it was near Gem's apartment. He took off in the direction of the explosion faster than one could say "Pika."

At the site of the accident, he found a group of trainers, Gem included, trying to fight the blaze that was a result of the boom. Their water Pokémon were trying their best, using Water Gun and Hydro Pump, but to no avail. The flames were too hot, and the water attacks couldn't faze them. Only a few Pokémon were making any headway, Starmie and a powerful looking Kingdra amongst them. Sizing up the situation, Slate immediately called out his Lapras.

"Lapras, use Icy Wind!" he called. Breathing deeply, Lapras immediately began to spit out the icy cold winds ridden with small ice particles onto the flames. The high winds, combined with extremely low temperatures, calmed the flames down temporarily, enough for the rest of the trainers with their water types to put out the blaze quickly.

Once the fire was put out, the trainers grouped in towards the center, trying to elucidate the cause of the gigantic explosion. What appeared to be a greatly misshapen metal box. This was foul play. But Slate wasn't concerned over that.

"Gem, are you alright?" he asked, worry on his voice. "I'm fine," she reassured him. After quickly checking her over to make sure she wasn't hurt, he said, "Gem, I think you'd better come with me for a bit." "Why?" she asked. "It's not safe for you to be on your own anymore. I'd feel better if you came with me," he explained.

She giggled, confusing Slate, but nodded. Suddenly, Slate had a nagging suspicion that he was forgetting something. Looking down at his watch, he noticed that it was 7:50. "Crap!" he shouted, as he turned in the direction of the coliseum. "What's the matter?" Gem asked. "No time to explain, we gotta get going!" he replied, as he dashed off in the direction of the ring, with Gem in tow.

At precisely 8:01, he came to a screeching halt in front of Chrighton, who eyed him coldly. "You're late," the trainer said. "Yeah, what of it?" challenged Slate. Chrighton simply walked towards the registration counter. "I'd like a battle with genius over there," he said to the woman behind the counter.

Asking for their Ring IDs, she brought up their profiles, and after a second of confirmation, booked them into the Ring for battle. A short while later, they stood in the locker room, waiting for their match to begin. "We're going to be training for endurance battling," said the older trainer. Slate stood in silence, contemplating Chrighton's words. Then, the doors opened, and two men in black suits entered to escort the duo to the Ring.

The bright halogen lamps beat down hard on the two, and they took up their respective areas in the Ring. The referee announced their match, and Slate glared at Chrighton with a look no less than full of hatred. "Let's do this," he said under his breath. "Dugtrio, go!" The Mole Pokémon popped out of its Poké Ball, chanting its name.

Chrighton looked at the two with a look of almost pity, and called out his Pokémon. From the Poké Ball emerged a Pokémon who wore a skull on its head. In its hand, it carried a Thick Club, and had the air of one who would use it without discretion. "Marowak!" it called to the audience. Acknowledging the two Pokémon, the referee called for the match's beginning.

Slate knew that Marowak were powerful Pokémon, with a wide range of attacks, including ice type attacks. He decided to end the battle quickly. "Dugtrio! Use Tri Attack!" The Mole Pokémon began to vibrate in place, a red, yellow, and icy blue beam forming on each head. It launched the attack with little effort, the beams spiraling together to form a giant white beam.

Marowak jumped, though, and immediately launched an Ice Beam attack at Dugtrio. Dugtrio simply slid out of the way. The match continued in this vein, with neither party allowing the other to damage each other. Finally, it was Dugtrio who made the first mistake. In desperation, it had used a Dig attack to avoid an Icy Wind.

That was when Marowak took a chance. Jumping high into the air, it crashed into the ground in a mighty Earthquake. The massive shockwaves forced Dugtrio to the surface, battered. Marowak then threw the Thick Club it held in an arc towards the opposing ground type. Dugtrio slid to one side, but failed to slide to the other, and was hit by the returning strike. Frustrated, Slate knew he needed to change his modus operandi.

He knew that using Dig would be another mistake, and would only result in another Earthquake, from which Dugtrio would not be able to recover. Unless, of course, he did it on purpose. At that, he called for a Dig attack. Without question, Dugtrio immediately disappeared underground. Smirking, Chrighton ordered another Earthquake. This time, though, it didn't cause the waves.

Rather, it fell through into a trench, the attack neutralized. From under it, a deep rumbling could be heard, followed by a loud cry as Dugtrio emerged from under Marowak in a powerful Dig. Sweeping around, Dugtrio sped out of sight, only to emerge behind the bewildered Bone Keeper Pokémon and smashing it into the wall of the trench in an Aerial Ace attack.

Ready to finish the battle, it began to pulsate once more with the three energies signature to the Tri Attack, and blasted Marowak at point blank. Overcome completely, Marowak fell, unable to continue. Chrighton acknowledged this by merely looking away, and called back his fallen Pokémon. Slate called back his Pokémon as well, congratulating it while putting its Ball to his waist. Walking over to Chrighton, he surprised the other trainer by saying, "Good job."

"Are you taunting me?" came the reply. "No, I mean that sincerely. I know that you're trying to better prepare me for matches that are coming up soon, and I appreciate it. Thanks." Chrighton simply stared at him before simply shaking it off with a cool, "Don't worry about it." Slate smiled, holding out his hand, which Chrighton took and shook. Back in the stands, Gem wiped a tear from her eye.

"You were incredible," she squealed when they were outside, in the lobby. Slate simply smiled, and said, "The big tournament's coming up soon. We better get ready." She nodded in agreement. Without a word, Slate stepped outside, ready to train. The tournament was in a month, and he would need every day of it to prepare.

However, there was no shortage of trainers to battle against, and he knew that to improve, he would need to fight each and every one of them. Walking about, his thoughts were interrupted by a call from the League Chairman. Quickly dodging into an alley, he picked up the call. The Chairman was not very happy when Slate first picked up.

"Slate, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What's the matter, sir?"

"Slate, you may want to lean on something. I've just received intelligence saying that, well, Hunt's got himself a new Pokémon."

"Why should this worry me, though?"

"Slate… It's Mewtwo…"

Slate stared at the screen, shocked. How could they capture Mewtwo, he thought to himself. "Are you sure, sir?" he asked. The Chairman nodded gravely, before continuing.

"I'm willing to bet anything that Hunt's planning on using the machine to amplify Mewtwo's power. You know what that means, don't you?" Slate nodded. "Good. You're going to need to train hard, so don't waste any time. Understood?" When Slate nodded, the Chairman cut the line. Walking out of the alley, Slate bumped into Chrighton, who immediately asked him of the news.

Nodding his affirmative, Chrighton punched the wall angrily. "Damn it! How could this happen?" he shouted. Slate simply stood in silence. "We must train… Come on! There's not a minute to lose." Suddenly, it was as if the fact of the matter had just hit him, and Slate realized with a start that if he wanted to stand a chance in a fight against Mewtwo, he would need to bring his Pokémon to the peaks of their abilities.

The next month went by like a blur. Amidst news of more attacks on cities, including the famous Oak Ranch, as well as attacks in faraway continents such as Houen and Orre, Chrighton and Slate continuously battled each other. Between battles, Slate helped Gem to try and find the person who had assaulted her that fateful day, as well as training her for the day that battle would come. As he did so, he began to become more protective of her, pushing her to her limits during training sessions.

Finally, the day came when registration for the big tournament would begin. With a plethora of new attack combinations at hand, Slate was more than ready for this tournament to begin. After registering, he had 3 days to prepare for the tournament. Realizing that training his Pokémon at this point would only lead to them getting hurt and too tired to battle, he decided to take the next few days off, relaxing. He and Chrighton had become comrades in battle, and were constantly found discussing strategies. He and Gem were inseparable as well, and they could be found quite often sharing a burger or slice of pizza.

The big day came, and the pairings for the tournament were announced. Slate was paired off against a relatively weak trainer, and he knew he would win the battle easily. The format was to be single battles, with each trainer using one Pokémon each, for the first 5 steps of the tournament. Then, trainers would be allowed to use three Pokémon for the next 3 steps, followed by double battles with 4 Pokémon for the next 2 steps. The last two steps, the Final rounds, would be six on six battling, and promised to be intense.

Slate and Gem stood together, scanning the board for her match. When she saw her opponent, a nasty look came across her face, and she began growling. "It's him," she said with a low guttural tone. Slate looked surprised at her, and looked up at the board to see a familiar face sneering down on them. It was Hunt. "Gem, was that guy the guy who attacked you?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was… And he's going to pay…" "Gem, listen to me, this guy's dangerous. Remember that guy Hunt I told you about? Well… He's your man…" Gem stared at him in shock. Then, horror sunk in, and her knees gave way. Slate caught her quickly, and she regained her balance. "Slate, what am I going to do?" she asked. "The only thing you can do… Stand and fight."

She nodded, and walked off to the locker rooms to prepare. Slate, meanwhile stared at her receding back, worry etched across his face. "Gem, please, be careful." He knew, deep down, that she would not be able to beat him, and it was ultimately going to be him, not anybody else, who had to take Hunt down, and afterwards, Mewtwo… He walked off to prepare for his match. It was going to be a long tournament.

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So, this chapter was obviously rather clichéd, and it shows through quite strongly. Anyways, drop a review!


	7. Chapter 7

Well, the tournament really starts to get under way now. A little bit of plot also enters this, which I suppose is a good thing, depending on how you look at it. Anyways, enjoy chapter 7!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon.

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The first match of the tournament was between none other than Slate and his pushover opponent, a bad-mouthing spiky haired punk. Ignoring the trash talk coming from the punk, who appeared to be simply bubbling with profanity, he waited as the spinner decided who would send their Pokémon first. The roulette stopped on his opponent, to his satisfaction.

Smirking, the punk sent out a Manectric, while calling out a stream of curses while at it. Slate was tired of the annoying man's comments, and decided to humiliate him. Rather than sending out Dugtrio, who easily had the type advantage, he called out his Pikachu. "Pika!" it called, happy to be battling. The Discharge Pokémon looked down its snout at the small mouse, thinking this was going to be easy. "Begin!" the referee called.

Manectric immediately leapt into a Thunder attack, which was easily avoided by a quick Double Team. Spreading its attack around it, the Manectric attempted to hit all the Pikachu clones at once. Clone after clone disappeared in the powerful flow of electricity, charging the atmosphere with static charges. Pikachu was nowhere to be found, though. Manectric's trainer cursed again, and called for a Shockwave, which Manectric quickly pulled off.

The attack went in every which direction, and was guaranteed a hit. Slate smiled, knowing that they had just fallen into his trap. "Pikachu! Iron Tail!" he called. From high in the field, where it had been bouncing about off pillars using Agility, his Pikachu began to initiate the attack.

As its tail began glowing in the powerful Steel type attack, the residual sparks from the Thunder attack initiated earlier began to collect on its tail as well. Spinning, Pikachu fell down towards Manectric, who focused the Shockwave attack on the Electric Mouse. Rather than frying it though, it merely wrapped around its tail, further powering up the Iron Tail.

With its nose inches away from Manectric, Pikachu brought its glowing tail, charged with electricity and lethal, into the Discharge Pokémon's face in a stormy arc of sparks. Manectric flew back, hit a pillar, fell down, and did not get up. Calling Pikachu back, Slate left the arena chuckling while the punk simply stared in disbelief.

After a few matches, it came time for Gem to face off against Hunt. The crowd cheered when Gem stepped onto the field, but absolutely went crazy when Hunt stepped out. The fevered audience chanted his name as he waved to them, laughing maniacally. The referee called the beginning of the match, prompting Gem to send out her Pokémon first.

She called on her Flygon who, true to its name of the Mystic Pokémon, spun about mysteriously leaving a trail of sparkling dust as it flew. Slate grinned like a lunatic, calling out his Tyrannitar. Slate stood in the tunnel leading to the field, leaning on a wall. Chrighton walked up behind him and leaned on the wall across from him. "There he is," Chrighton said grimly. "Yeah… Let's hope he doesn't hurt Gem," Slate whispered. They resumed watching the proceedings.

"This battle between Gem and none other than the master of battling, Hunt, will now begin!" called the referee. At once, Tyrannitar began to tighten its focus for the devastating Focus Punch attack. Flygon, seeing its chance, immediately launched an Earthquake. Jumping into the air, it smashed its feet into the ground, creating a crater as it did. The giant waves ripped through Tyrannitar.

Surprisingly, it left the Armor Pokémon unharmed, and the Focus Punch finished charging. With an earsplitting roar, it charged at Flygon, bringing its fist forward. Before it made contact, Flygon's eyes widened as it saw the crazed look in Tyrannitar's pupils. Then, the attack smashed Flygon into the wall, instantly knocking it out. Gem stared at Flygon while the crowd went wild.

Calling it back to its ball almost automatically without feeling, she fell to her knees as the wave of defeat crashed over her. Running to her side, Slate and Chrighton helped her to her feet and out the stadium. As Slate left, he chanced a look at Hunt. Their eyes met and they exchanged looks of anger and hatred. Just like that, Hunt turned away, his face a mask of joy. Slate turned back to his task at hand: making sure Gem was safe. Leading her to the lobby, he entrusted her to the receptionist, who nodded knowingly.

The rest of the matches of the day went without incident, and the pairings for the next day were announced. Since Slate and Hunt were in completely opposite blocks, the only match they would have would be the final match. He was fine with that. Chrighton, meanwhile, was in the block adjacent to Hunt's. He would have to fight him in the semi-finals, if he made it that far. Slate gritted his teeth. "Hunt, I'll get you for this… Just you watch…"

Later that day, Slate, Gem and Chrighton were walking down the Main Street of the Underground City, just as they had did months ago. Gem was still in a state of shock over her loss, and had to be led by Slate to make sure she didn't crash into anybody. Stomach grumbling, he decided that the best thing to do was to grab some dinner.

Chrighton nodded his agreement, and together they found a noodle place. Placing their orders, they began to discuss the tournament, while stealing looks at Gem to make sure she was alright. In the middle of the meal, Gem suddenly spoke. "I lost, didn't I?" Slate nodded before looking away. Her eyes were full of sorrow, and he couldn't stand to see her like that.

"All my work up to now, working in the very place I hated the most, was it for nothing? I lost just like that… But how? Didn't I train? How could I have lost?" "Gem…" That was all Slate could say. Seeing the state his companion was in, Chrighton decided to take it onto himself to speak.

"Gem, your loss was nothing out of the ordinary. Hunt's Pokémon were pumped up to extremes. There was no way you could've stood a chance against him. No normal trainer could have."

"But Slate did!" she replied, tearfully. "Slate… is no normal trainer," was the simple reply. They returned to their meals. Later that night, Slate and Chrighton returned Gem to her apartment. She would need to be alone, and if anything arose, their PokéNavs were switched on. They decided to head to the park, where they spent all their free time training.

At this time, the park was deserted, perfect for the two to discuss the events that just transpired. Sitting on one of the swings reserved for the children who lived in the Underground City while their parents duked it out in the Ring, Slate began to rock back and forth. Chrighton sat down on the merry-go-round instead, opting to kick from left to right.

"Well, what do you think?" Chrighton asked while moving side to side. "I don't know… Just a few months ago, I was the League Champ, looked up to by all. Now, I'm just a random trainer fighting in the illegal Ring. I'm still trying to figure out what happened," Slate mused. "To think that a little over a month ago, we hated each other," chuckled Chrighton.

"Yeah…" They continued to move in silence. Then, Chrighton spoke again. "What do you think will happen when we battle against Hunt?" The question hung on the still air, with neither party willing to voice their thoughts. "I suppose we just fight our hardest. He has the power of that machine behind him, and Mewtwo as well. We can only do the best we can. That's all anybody can ask of us." "Slate, you know the reputation of the League rests with you and only you, right?" Slate looked up at the strange question.

"There's you too," he said. "No, only you. I'm in no way strong enough to deal with Hunt. You saw what I saw. My Pokémon are going to fall, no doubt about it. You have to take Hunt down, and you have to do it alone… I'm sorry." Slate, although he knew this already, was silent as he absorbed the facts.

"No," he said. "No, I'm not alone. I know that you people are behind me, and I can't lose. I have to win this." "That's the spirit!" Chrighton said. "Let's see some of that during the Final match. Remember, give that bastard a whack for me, huh?" "You got it." Grinning, they high fived each other.

Later, in his room, Slate placed his Poké Balls into the recovery machines, as he did every night. Looking out the window, he watched as a group of teens ran through the streets, laughing and shouting as they did. Turning away, he remembered the vow he had made to leave the place behind forever. He decided to flip on the TV again. Flipping through the channels, he saw nothing new.

"More Cities Demolished Today. League Does Nothing Amidst Attacks. Mysterious Pokémon Attacks Small Village." A picture of a shadowy Pokémon appeared on screen, its body cloaked in darkness. Its tufted ears and its neck made it apparent though. It was Mewtwo. Staring into its eyes, he saw nothing but a pool of anger, caused no doubt by the machine Hunt had created. He knew that it was this Pokémon, not Hunt, that he would face in the final battle.

He flipped off the TV, and went to sleep. It did not come quickly, and when it did, was filled with images of Mewtwo attacking his closest friends while he could do nothing but watch.

The next day, two rounds were to be held seeing as there were only half the number of participants. Scanning the list, Slate saw he was paired up with another pushover. The real opponents wouldn't be had until later in the tournament. Chrighton, on the other hand, had the crowd favorite amongst Ground Type trainers, and stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Nonetheless, he kept up his cold demeanor, and walked off to his match, as did Slate. Walking into Ring B, Slate saw his opponent, a young boy who seemed too young to be battling. Nonetheless, he greeted his opponent civilly. The referee called the beginning, and Slate sent out his Pokémon, the speedy Sceptile.

His opponent called out a Magcargo, a snail-like Pokémon who's rock-like shell sometimes spewed out fire. The match began, and Magcargo launched laboriously into a Flamethrower. Easily dodging around the attack, Sceptile used Hidden Power. Spheres of energy surrounded and circled Sceptile, ultimately focusing themselves into one point. Concentrating them together, Sceptile blasted out a vicious beam that collided with Magcargo, instantly defeating it.

The boy stared in wonder, as the air around him suddenly became cooler and more humid, with water forming on the metal fencing around the stadium. "Hidden Power has a unique type for each Pokémon," Slate explained after seeing the look of wonder on the boy's face, and walked away from the battle. His next battle took place in pretty much the same vein. Slate swept through the competition, and as he stood outside reading the pairings board, was pleased to see that Chrighton had done the same. The companions congratulated each other, and prepared for the next few battles.

Soon, the second double battle step arrived, Slate having easily swept through the remaining 2 Single Battle steps and the first Double Battle Step. His opponent was a tall and lean teenager. The teen, Guy, was reputed to be a master at double battles, and was juggling his two Poké Balls when Slate walked onto the field. Grinning, he said, "Hey, guy, let's make this a good match, huh?"

Slate smiled and nodded, ready for a fun match. Slate called out Lapras and Sceptile as Guy threw out his Balls. From them emerged a strong looking Swellow and the ever lazy Slaking. "Let the match begin!" Sceptile leapt at Slaking with a mighty Leaf Blade as it countered with a fast Mega Punch. The attacks collided in a shower of sparks and both Pokémon were thrown back. Laughing while getting up, Sceptile stood to face its opponents once more, glad to find somebody it could go all out on The trainers did likewise, and called their Pokémon forward to attack. They dashed at each other, meeting in the center in a large explosion.

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Hopefully you all enjoyed this. Anyways, leave a review. Chapter 8 comes tomorrow!


	8. Chapter 8

Hoo boy, I really neglected this site. I've been wrapped up in a lot of stuff lately, so I never really had the time to finish uploading this story. Anyways, this is chapter 8 of the story. I hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon

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When the smoke from the explosion cleared, all was in a state of chaos. Sceptile and Slaking were facing off against each other, with Leaf Blade combating Focus Punch. Sparks flew from the two attacks, and the Pokémon grunted as they struggled to overcome each other. Meanwhile, Swellow was avoiding blasts of Water Gun coming from Lapras. It tried to swoop in for an Aerial Ace onto Sceptile's back, but just as it tried to speed up, it would encounter another blast of water.

Changing tactics, Swellow sped into another Aerial Ace, this time targeting Lapras. The water type was not unduly worried though, and began to focus itself. Without warning, it let out a massive Blizzard attack that surrounded it in a giant tornado.

Swellow, although out of sight, was not out of range for attack, and as it swept in to attack Lapras, met the maelstrom of snow and ice, which instantly froze it into a solid brick. Using Strength, Lapras smashed apart the ice block and sent Swellow flying back towards Guy's end of the ring. As the bird struggled to get up, propping itself up onto its wings, a quick Ice Beam ended any further attempts.

Guy called his Swellow back, only to send out a Glalie. The ice type floated menacingly, its face ever locked in a scowl. From between its ears, a ball of blue energy formed, which was shot at Lapras. The Ice Beam barely affected Lapras, although it did leave it frozen to the ground.

Just as Glalie began its assault on Lapras, Slaking had finally managed to overcome Sceptile, using its brute strength to do so. Smashing Sceptile into the wall, it proceeded to execute another Focus Punch, this time at Lapras. With its fist glowing, the giant sloth smashed Lapras mercilessly, who, frozen to the ground, could not dodge. For some reason, though, Slate smirked.

Guy soon saw why. Lapras began glowing once more with a harsh blue aura, and at once, spat out the icy blasts of air that made up Sheer Cold. Struck at point blank, Slaking was lifted off its feet and thrown into the back wall, encased in ice. Calling his Slaking back, Guy then sent out a strong looking Arcanine. Lapras, exhausted after the attack, fell down and struggled to get back up.

Slate then chose to reveal his trump card. Calling for a Hidden Power from Sceptile, he directed it not at Glalie, but at Lapras. Dumbstruck by what appeared to be Slate deliberately hurting one of his Pokémon, Guy could do nothing but watch as the bright beam smashed into the helpless Transport Pokémon. A flash of light erupted through the stadium, temporarily blinding everybody. Not one to take chances, Guy ordered Arcanine to use a Flame Wheel.

The Legendary Pokémon streaked across the field, surrounded by a ball of fire, and jumped into the light. Sceptile could be heard, crying out in pain as it felt the flames from the attack lick at its body. Suddenly, Arcanine was blasted back by a fierce Hydro Pump, slamming it into a wall, cracking it in the process. When the haze caused by the Hidden Power finally disappeared, Sceptile and Arcanine both laid prone on the ground.

Lapras, on the other hand, looked fit for battle, and no worse for the wear. "What?" was all Guy could say. "Lapras has an ability known as Water Absorb, allowing it to absorb water attacks and convert it into energy, basically allowing it to recover damage when hit with a water attack," Slate explained. Calling back Sceptile, he decided to make this match quick and called out his Pikachu. The electric rodent immediately sped into an Iron Tail, smashing Glalie for a super effective hit. A Water Pulse from Lapras finished it, and Slate was declared the victor.

With the second step of the double battle tournament out of the way, it came down to the Final section of the tournament, the two six on six battle steps. This leg of the race was the most important, and Slate could not afford to lose the first step. As predicted, Hunt managed to move to the last round with Slate. Chrighton also made the last round, and would be going up against Hunt in the semifinals. Slate was facing off against a rising star in the Ring, and would have a tough time of it trying to sweep the battle. Stepping away to prepare for his battle, he bumped into Chrighton.

They silently exchanged greetings, with Slate silently mouthing, "Good Luck." Chrighton nodded, his mouth set in a grim slash, and walked off to Ring A where Hunt would be waiting. Standing for while, Slate snapped out of his daze and immediately ran off to Ring B, where his match would be held.

It was already almost 2/3 of the way into Slate's match, and the opposition was sweating profusely. Slate's Salamence had torn through the opposition, and was now roaring in triumph. Using brute force alone, Salamence knocked out 4 of the opponent's Pokémon, and was now poised to rip apart the Poliwrath it was facing against. Swooping around, Salamence immediately smashed into Poliwrath with a strong Fly attack, knocking it out.

The opponent's final Pokémon was a Walrein. The Ice Break Pokémon bellowed at Salamence, who didn't flinch at the show of power. Rather, it smashed the ground up in a super effective Rock Slide, trapping Walrein easily. With its prey in sight, Salamence swept in and clamped its fangs around Walrein's thick neck in a Crunch attack, and threw it from the field, finishing the match. Calling back the dragon, Slate immediately ran towards Ring A to watch the rest of Chrighton and Hunt's match.

Chrighton was putting up a magnificent fight, but it was a losing one. His Marowak couldn't keep dodging the Tyrannitar's attacks for much longer. Every attempt at an attack was useless, with the Armor Pokémon either swatting it away or countering with an even stronger move. Down to his last Pokémon, Chrighton had no choice but to go for the final move.

"Marowak, use Ice Beam!" he shouted. The bright ball of energy formed in front of Marowak as it launched the icy cold beam around the field, creating giant pillars of ice. Bouncing from pillar to pillar, Marowak employed a hit and run strategy, smashing Tyrannitar with Bone Club attacks as it flew. As the final, most desperate move, it smashed the ground with its Thick Club, causing the powerful Earthquake attack to flow through the field, leveling the pillars and knocking out Tyrannitar.

For some reason, though, Hunt merely grinned as he called back his Pokémon. Gripping another Ball, he tossed it onto the field. From it emerged his Alakazam. Hissing its name sinisterly, it launched a Psychic attack, pulverizing anything within range, including Marowak. Crying out in pain, Marowak could do nothing as life was slowly being squeezed from it. Chrighton had no choice.

Lifting up his struggling Pokémon's Ball, he called it back. In doing so, he also forfeited the match. He fell to his knees in defeat as Hunt laughed crazily. The villain strutted off the field as Slate ran into it. "You had to do it… Otherwise, Marowak would've died," Slate said soothingly. Chrighton nodded, and got up. "Finish him for me," he said. "Just you try and stop me…" There was anger and hatred in Slate's voice, and he was ready to kill.

Slate walked out into the Underground City for what would be his last night there. He looked around once more at the scene of pure chaos, and shook his head as usual. The lights of the hotel and the giant Poké Ball of neon drew him in, and he was about to enter the elevator when a hand lightly tapped his shoulder. He spun around to see a tearful Gem. Taking one look at her, he knew she was in no shape to be walking around, and immediately brought her to his room. Once they arrived, he sat her down on his bed, and began to talk with her.

"What's the matter?"

"Slate, don't hide anything from me. I know what you're going up against. This guy's a lunatic! You're going to get killed!"

"Gem, I have to do this. If I don't, everybody's in for trouble."

"But why you? Why not anybody else? Chrighton's a strong trainer! Let him do it!"

"Gem, you're hysterical. Calm down. I have to battle against Hunt tomorrow, and nothing you can do can change that fact. Please, for your own sake, trust me."

"Slate… From the second I heard Chrighton lost, I knew that you were going to have to battle this man. Just promise me one thing."

"Anything"

"Come back alive, please."

Slate nodded, and she wiped her eyes. Fiddling with something around her neck, she drew out a small satchel. "I found this the day after Hunt attacked me and that girl. It's kept me safe for a long time, and I want you to have it. I don't want you getting hurt, and this will help me know that you're going to come back." Slate took it wordlessly, and nodded. Her mission complete, she fell asleep in Slate's bed.

Chuckling softly, he muttered to himself, "I guess I'm taking the couch tonight." Putting his Pokémon one last time into the recovery machine, he looked at the satchel in his hand. Without a word, he placed it around his neck and fell onto the couch. Within minutes, he was asleep.

The next day arrived before Slate could think. When he woke, he could smell something cooking, and getting up, he could see Gem was making scrambled eggs. Brushing his teeth, he walked out of the bathroom and tapped her on the shoulder. "The dying man's last meal, huh?" he joked.

She slapped him, and said, "Don't talk like that! You're going to need all your energy today. It's your big match. Remember what you promised me?" He nodded and smiled briefly, but his heart was not in it. After eating breakfast, they decided to walk to the Ring together. The match was to be in the largest ring, the one reserved for special battles only. Grabbing his hand, Gem looked Slate in the eye. "Be careful," she said, and hugged him.

Slate nodded once more, and walked into the ring. Hunt was already there, and the crowd went crazy at the sight of the two competitors staring each other in the eye. Gem made her way to a seat next to Chrighton. "Do you think he's gonna win?" she asked. "He has to. If he doesn't, it's game over for everybody…"

"I see you came," Hunt called to Slate. "Yeah, sorry to ruin your day," Slate replied, keeping up the banter. "Don't worry about it. I was rather looking forward to battling you today. I'm sure you're aware of the stakes, and what you're going up against," Hunt said. "You've decided to pull out all the stops, haven't you?"

The villain laughed the trademark villain laugh, and said, "Yes, as a matter of fact I have. You, sir, are not walking out alive today. Each and every one of my Pokémon have been beefed up, and you can't do a thing about it. Why, I hold in my hand the remote that'll do it." As Hunt said this, he procured said remote. The referee then called the beginning of the match. "Let's start," Hunt laughed. He threw his Poké Ball into the field. The ever familiar face of Tyrannitar met Slate's gaze.

Laughing himself, Slate called out his Dugtrio. "The final match of the tournament is about to begin. The competitors, Slate, League Champion, and Hunt, Undefeated Ring Leader, have chosen their Pokémon, Tyrannitar and Dugtrio. Now, this match is about to begin." "Now, you're going to see the full power of my machine. I wonder what happens when I push this little red button that says 'Do not push'? Oops, too late!" Without warning, Tyrannitar began shaking uncontrollably.

A purple aura surrounded it, and it roared as its focus was concentrated forcibly. Then, it laughed, a pure evil laugh. "Hmm, a battle of such proportions should not be fought underground. Let's take this into the world above shall we?" Hunt asked. Slate stood, confused. Then, the ceiling began to split, and the entire stadium began rising into the air. Within minutes, the entire ceiling had peeled away, and the stadium was rising to meet the surface. Once the ground of the stadium was flush with that of the surface, Slate looked around.

The sunlight beat harshly down on the field, and Slate took a minute to adjust his eyes. It was a beautiful day on the surface, and Slate had forgotten what sunlight looked like, as did the spectators of the battle. But that was not all. The entire city that the Underground Ring laid under was leveled. Men, women, and children alike walked about in tattered clothes, crying. People mugged other people in broad daylight. The scene was too much for Slate, and turning to Hunt, he growled, "You're going to pay." "Let's begin, shall we?" And with those words, the match of the century began.

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Did you like that? Drop a review!


	9. Chapter 9

Well, here resumes the battle between Slate and Hunt! I really hope I did this battle well. Anyways, read and review!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon

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Trying to use its superior speed, Dugtrio immediately began zooming around Tyrannitar in circles. The giant armor Pokémon simply smirked at the desperate attempt to buy some time. Ramming its fist into the ground, it created a crater as the deadly Earthquake attack ripped through the stadium. People outside the stadium, walking the streets of Celadon felt it as well, as light poles toppled, and what was left of buildings collapsed.

Dugtrio had taken a major hit, and would not last much longer. In desperation, Slate called for a Tri-Attack, hoping that one of the three status conditions would weaken Tyrannitar. The three beams formed and merged as they coursed through Tyrannitar. Unfortunately, the normal type attack wasn't very effective on the superpowered Rock type, and the Armor Pokémon shook the attack off with no visible harm.

Grinning madly, it jumped at Dugtrio, gripping its massive claws into the Mole Pokémon's body before tossing it back. Dugtrio hit the wall and didn't get up. "Dugtrio is unable to battle! Tyrannitar is the winner!" called the referee, as Tyrannitar gave a low, wheezing laugh with Hunt.

It rubbed its claws against its teeth in a taunt which served to frustrate Slate. As he called the fallen Pokémon back, Gem said sadly, "It's not looking good, is it?" "No, that machine's more powerful than we thought. He doesn't stand a chance against that kind of power!" Chrighton replied.

Back on the field, Slate decided to play with another type advantage, and called out Lapras. The Transport Pokémon hummed lowly, and fixed its gaze on the crazed Tyrannitar. "Begin!" called the referee. "Lapras, use your Surf attack!" Slate called. Hunt smiled, and snapped his fingers. Without a word, Tyrannitar sent its fist into the ground once more.

This time, giant pillars of stone emerged from the ground in front of it. The wave from Surf crashed against the stone pillars, but left Tyrannitar unharmed. "Rock Tomb has its uses, you know," Hunt wheezed out between fits of laughter. Slate gritted his teeth. Rationalizing that nothing could stand up to the power of his next attack, he decided to fence Tyrannitar in to prepare and called for an Ice Beam.

The cold ray blasted around the Armor Pokémon but did not touch it. Looking around in confusion, the Tyrannitar noticed it was fenced in by giant pillars of ice on all sides. It proceeded to use Focus Punch to shatter the ice. As it did so, the temperature in the stadium began to drop bit by bit. Finally, it punched a hole through the ice, only to meet the ultimate ice attack: Sheer Cold.

As ice crept up its legs, it launched a Rock Slide attack in retaliation. Then, it gave in to the cold, and immediately fell to the ground unconscious, but not before the Rock Slide smashed into Lapras, knocking it out as well. Slate growled. The score was 5-4, and it was in Hunt's favor. He needed to even the odds, and fast.

"Let's go, Sceptile!" Slate shouted, as he threw out the Ball containing the Forest Pokémon. Chuckling, Hunt sent out a strong looking Muk, who instantly was surrounded by the same purple aura that engulfed Tyrannitar, increasing its power by at least tenfold. "Sceptile versus Muk! Begin!" came the call.

Knowing his grass type attacks would do little against the poison type Muk, he decided to go for Hidden Power. The attack blasted through Muk, but it appeared unharmed. Then came the counterattack. Inhaling deeply, it spat out large balls of sludge that exploded on contact with any surface. Sceptile leapt out of the way, traversing the walls of the stadium using all its natural agility to do so, but could not keep running forever. Slate needed a fast solution.

Since range attacks didn't seem to do much, he decided to go with a physical attack. "Iron Tail!" he shouted. Sceptile's large tail began to glow brightly, and the Forest Pokémon dashed in to crush Muk. As its large brush of a tail came down though, Muk simply reformed about it, trapping Sceptile within the toxic sludge that composed it. Immediately, Sceptile began to struggle, but with each wriggle, another tendril of sludge wrapped itself around the grass type. Slate called for a Detect in hopes that Sceptile would be able to rip itself from the poison type.

Eyes glowing blue, Sceptile tried to jump away, but was stuck too fast. The only effect the attack had was to ward off any other tendrils of sludge that ventured towards it. Muk was in the superior position, and Hunt knew it. Before he could do anything, Hunt ordered a Sludge Bomb followed by a Body Slam. The Sludge Bomb hit point blank, and Sceptile winced with every hit. That wasn't all though.

Gathering its sludge about it, Muk fell on top of the Forest Pokémon, instantly smothering it. Sceptile struggled for a bit, but was running out of air. Then, it stopped. The referee was about to call the match when suddenly, a green blade ripped through Muk, followed by another, and Sceptile leapt out of its clutches.

Muk, however, didn't seem unduly hurt, and simply reformed. Sceptile jumped to Hunt's side, grinning as it did. Then, as it motioned to walk towards Muk, Sceptile froze in midstep, its eyes glazed over in disbelief. It toppled slowly towards the ground in defeat as it fainted. The referee called the match in Hunt's favor, and Slate called back his fallen comrade. Tears sprung to his eyes as he realized that he was going up against somebody who was infinitely more powerful than anything he had ever seen before. He fell to his knees in anguish. Meanwhile, Hunt laughed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, meet the League Champion! For months, he battled in the Underground Ring trying to stop me from taking over YOUR world! You, who lost faith in him, you who jeered at him, the one man who fought against the oppressor, the one man who's always been at your side. And you laughed at him. Now look at him. This is your Champion! A pitiful man who can't even control his own emotions! A useless boy with little toys as Pokémon. This is your symbol of honor?

This is your symbol of justice? You fools, he's the wrong choice. Follow me, though, and you will find yourself happier than you've ever been, doing whatever you want, wherever you want, and with whoever you want! Unless, of course, you insist on following this worthless excuse of a Champion… Hah!" Hunt's laughter echoed through the silent stadium.

Outside, in the city streets, people began to cry, as they realized the one person that was there for them through thick and thin was the one who they spurned, who they jeered at. Then, a voice shouted out. "Slate, you can do it! I believe in you!" shouted Gem from the stands. Everybody stared at her. Then, Chrighton stood up and called out, "Come on man! You're better than this trash! Show him what you're made of!"

The two began to chant Slate's name. Their voices rang out in the hollow silence. Then, from around the stadium, Celadon citizens who heard the speech dried their tears, and took up the chant. What began as a few voices grew to a din, then a dull roar. Then, the sound of Slate's name grew in proportion until the whole city was shouting his name. Through the wonderful invention of TV, people of other cities took up the chant, until the whole country was united behind Slate.

Slate, looking around him in wonder, realized that he couldn't give in just yet. He had a mission, and he had to fulfill it. He got up, more ready than before to battle, and grinned, holding a thumbs up sign at Gem. She returned the signal, crying as she did. Seeing the gesture of confidence, the crowd broke into cheers to Hunt's great displeasure. "Well now, are we ready to go again?" Slate taunted. "I'll crush you, then everybody who supported you," growled Hunt. The tables had turned.

With a clear head, Slate called out his trusty Pikachu. The little mouse challenged Muk, who flared up in rage. "Let the battle begin!" called out the referee. Muk immediately launched a powerful Sludge Bomb, but couldn't pin down the agile little mouse. Pikachu sped into an Agility attack, following through with a Double Team, just as it did with the Seviper back in Silph Co.

As it left behind afterimages of itself, the Electric Mouse also left behind a trail of sparks which accumulated in the humid air. The Sludge Pokémon, fed up with the rodent, launched a barrage of Focus Punches, none of which landed. The Pikachu army then launched a powerful Thunder attack, which coursed through Muk.

Of course, the attack was only truly coming from one Pikachu, the rest being clone attacks. But the illusion rang true, and it appeared as if an army of Pikachu was attacking. Pikachu then leapt once more into the air, the clones merging into one for a powerful Iron Tail, just like with Seviper. It was different this time, though. The air was charged with electricity, and this electricity collected in Pikachu's tail.

Flipping over, the mouse brought down its sparking tail in a devastating strike, which was softened by Muk's body. That was not all though. The sparks then coursed once more through Muk. Angry, the Sludge Pokémon wrapped its sludge around Pikachu, as it did with Sceptile. Struggling only got Pikachu caught further in the web of sludge. Slate was ready this time. Smiling, he called for a Charge attack.

Sparks ran erratically over Pikachu's body as it charged up its power for its next attack. Meanwhile, more sludge was accumulating over its body as well. Hunt called for a Body Slam, which the Sludge Pokémon gladly executed, smothering the rodent as it did Sceptile. This time, though, rather than simply staring as his Pokémon was smothered, he called out one word: "Thunder!"

Under the pile of sludge, Pikachu's ears perked up. Gathering its wits, it summoned up the powerful attack. Muk was celebrating what it thought was a perfect victory, when it felt the powerful electric attack ripping through its body. The electric attack threw Muk off and blasted craters in the field as well as blowing out many of the light bulbs in the vicinity. A series of massive explosions powered through the stadium as the superpowered Thunder attack finished its course.

The smoke cleared away, and a small silhouette could be seen standing over a pile of shapeless sludge. "Pikachu is the winner!" the referee called, to the wild cheers of the crowd. Hunt called back his Muk and threw another Ball out onto the field. In a burst of light, the venomous Ariados emerged. The Long Leg Pokémon screeched as the machine's power coursed through it, superconcentrating its focus. Its eyes gained the same crazed look as Tyrannitar and Muk before it. "Begin!" the referee called.

Ariados immediately fired off a String Shot. Pikachu tried to dodge by repelling off a wall, but the thick covering of sludge made it slip, and it was caught in the netting of the String Shot. The strands of silk combined with the sludge made for a sloppy mixture, and Pikachu was forced to the ground in a puddle of sticky slop.

Ariados began firing off Shadow Ball attacks, each more powerful than the last, and each very deadly. The attacks seemingly connected with deadly accuracy, causing blast after blast. Smirking, Hunt called for the final strike, a painful Leech Life. As Ariados scuttled in to suck the life out of the rodent, it was repelled by an errant bolt of electricity. Forced back, it was startled to see Pikachu on all fours, panting. Hunt was equally as surprised, before remembering seeing a small green light surround the tiny mouse Pokémon.

"You used Protect," he growled, as Slate confirmed his suspicions. At that, Pikachu launched a series of Shockwave attacks, each hitting their mark. The Long Leg Pokémon tried to fight back with Night Shades, but was repelled each time by the determined Electric Mouse. Reaching deep within itself, the small Pokémon launched yet another Thunder, frying Ariados.

The Pokémon crumpled to the ground, unable to battle. Hunt called it back, muttering as he did so. "Impossible. It shouldn't have fallen that easily…" He stared at Pikachu, who was truly exhausted and was tottering on the ground. Growling, he called out his fourth Pokémon, his Machamp. It, too, fell a victim to the machine. Sensing that Pikachu didn't have much more, Slate called for its deadliest attack: Volt Tackle.

Hunt called for a Submission attack from his Machamp, who instantly began running at Pikachu, each footstep smashing the ground up. The small mouse called up the last vestiges of its energy as it dashed towards the Superpower Pokémon. A bright yellow aura surrounded it as the two Pokémon collided midway into the field, followed by an enormous explosion.

Both Pokémon were hurled out of the ring, and Machamp smashed into the wall, its body covered in sparks. Pikachu landed on all fours, smiled, and collapsed with sheer exhaustion. Picking up his Pokémon tenderly, Slate called it back, thanking it for an incredible performance.

Facing Machamp, he called out his second to last Pokémon, the powerful Salamence. It roared out in sheer power, forcing Machamp to back away from its Intimidate ability. Machamp rubbed one of its four arms as it did so. Slate noted this and called for an Earthquake from Salamence.

Shielding itself with its four arms, Machamp braced for impact as the waves shattered the stadium floor, ripping up rubble as it went. Some of the rubble struck its injured arm, and Machamp winced in pain. Seeing a weak spot, Salamence swooped in for a Crunch attack, sinking its fangs into the Machamp's arm.

Flinging it about, it sent Machamp into the nearest wall. The Superpower Pokemon fought back, coming in for a Dynamicpunch. Salamence took to the air, dodging the shining fists associated with the attack. From its vantage point in the sky, the dragon fired off a barrage of Dragon Rages. The shockwaves burst through Machamp, slowly chipping away at its energy, knocking it down as it did so.

As Machamp tried to get up, Salamence came in for the final strike, Aerial Ace. It disappeared in a blur of blue, only to reappear in front of Machamp, pinning it in its chest. Swooping back with Machamp caught on its fangs, Salamence slammed Machamp into the ground for a final blow. The Superpower could stand no more, and fainted. The referee granted the match to Slate, who grinned. They were tied now. Now positively roaring in anger, Hunt called out his second to last Pokémon, the lazy Snorlax. "Begin!"

Salamence came in to rip through Snorlax's defenses with an Earthquake. Surprisingly, Snorlax simply took the hit. Before he could process what happened, though, it came back with an incredible Counter, blasting Salamence back, before blowing the stadium up with an Explosion attack. When the smoke cleared, both it and Salamence were knocked out. It was obvious Hunt wanted to end this on his terms, with their strongest Pokémon on the field.

He threw in his last Ball, the one that contained Alakazam. Slate threw in his prize Pokémon as well, and Silver emerged from his Ball. Staring at each other, the signature Pokémon impatiently awaited the signal. Then it came: "Begin!" Alakazam, powered up by the machine, launched a swift Psybeam, which was dodged by Silver's Agility attack. Sliding up behind Alakazam, Silver launched a Metal Claw. Alakazam disappeared in a flash, appearing behind Silver and sending its fist forward in a Fire Punch.

Silver immediately brought its arms forward in a Protect attack, and the recoil from Fire Punch sent them both back to their respective corners. The crowd was going crazy with the battle, but both trainers locked them out. Alakazam launched a Thunderbolt attack, which was returned by Silver's Psychic.

Alakazam, too, launched its Psychic attack. The wave of electricity, caught between two Psychic attacks, began to swirl crazily in the middle of the field, surrounded by the aura of the attack. Both Pokémon struggled to stand their ground as the telekinetic waves lapped around their legs. Alakazam focused its mind, bringing its power to maximum, and slowly but surely began to overcome Silver.

Struggling to win, Silver pushed with all its might, but could not overcome the power of Alakazam's mind. It screamed as the electricity and psychic energy coursed through its body before falling to the ground. Hunt laughed maniacally at the show of pathos, but was cut off as Silver rose, even more determined than ever. It launched itself into another Agility attack, but this time, began to spin as it did.

When it neared Alakazam, its claws began to glow in Metal Claw. Alakazam teleported behind Silver, but was surprised when the metal juggernaut doubled back. Caught between a rock and a hard place, it was slashed and thrown about mercilessly by the spinning fortress*. Flying back from the attack, it struggled to get back up. It tried to execute a Recover, but Silver immediately used a Pursuit attack, striking Alakazam for a super effective hit, negating the effects of Recover.

The Pokémon stared down once more. Then, Alazakam began to run in with a Focus Punch attack. Silver countered with a Meteormash, and the two met in the center of the field. While Alakazam's attack was normally quite low, when powered up by the machine, it became quite the threat, and pushed against Silver's claw. Sparks flew from the front of power, and little by little, it was Silver this time who would prove victorious, smashing its arm into Alakazam and sending it back.

The Psy Pokémon got up regardless of the damage done, and used Recover immediately. The yellow light of the attack surrounded it, and it felt the its energy rush back into its body. Squinting its eyes, it launched another Psychic, trapping Silver in a vortex of energy. Silver struggled for a bit before stopping, motionless. Alakazam launched it back, where it appeared to hit the wall in a cloud of smoke.

The stadium was silent, and all that could be heard was the walls falling after impact. Then, a huge metallic roar sounded through the stadium as Silver sped from the smoke and collided with Alakazam in a powerful Meteormash, pinning it to the wall. "Let's end this! Hyper Beam!" Slate roared as the cross on Silver's face began to glow a harsh orange. A large ball of energy formed in front of it, and blasted Alakazam full force, pulverizing the wall to which it was pinned and sending it into the stands, unconscious and unable to battle.

Silver fell to the ground, tired but elated as it flew back to its trainer who embraced it. Hunt fell to his feet in disbelief as the referee declared, "Slate is the winner of the tournament! The League Champion has won!"

The crowded roared its approval, with Gem and Chrighton jumping up and down in excitement. Gem and Slate's eyes met, and he nodded. Then, Hunt began laughing his crazed laugh. "You think you've won? This is only the beginning! Let me show you what true power is!" He held out his remote. Before he could push anything though, an enormous explosion could be heard in the distance, in the direction of Lavender Town. A large cloud of smoke could be seen originating in a point high in the sky. Then, the remote began to spark.

Without warning, it exploded in Hunt's hand. He screamed in agony as he stared at his mutilated hand. Slate, confused for a second, realized what it meant. "You bastard! You placed your machine in the Pokémon Tower? That was meant to be the final resting place of the Pokémon who we loved and cared for!" Hunt only whimpered as he clutched his hand to his chest in agony. Then, Slate came to a greater realization.

"No, was it… Was it Mewtwo who did that?" Hunt merely nodded. "Then that means… Mewtwo has absorbed the full power of the machine…" Slate murmured in shock. He turned and was about to dash off the field when he bumped into Gem. "Slate, you did it!" she squealed. "Yeah, I did. Listen, Gem, I have to go do something important right now. It's dangerous, so please, don't say anything."

"It's Mewtwo, isn't it?" said Chrighton. Slate nodded, as Gem looked in horror. "Slate…" "Please, don't Gem." "I wasn't Slate. Just remember what you promised me… That you would come back… Safe…" Slate nodded. "I will." At that, he jumped onto Silver, who lifted off the ground and took off in the direction of the Pokémon Tower. "I'm coming, Mewtwo," Slate whispered to himself. He felt the satchel that Gem gave him beneath his shirt, and knew he had a promise to keep.

* * *

Hopefully, that was enjoyable! Drop a review! (Those do help)


	10. Chapter 10

And thus wraps up this first fanfic of mine. It was pretty much two years ago that I wrote this whole thing out, and the sequel, for that matter. This marks the first step in this little writing chronicle of mine. Anyways, without further ado, here's chapter 10!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon

* * *

Slate and Silver landed on the demolished roof of the Pokémon Tower. As he stepped down from his Pokémon, pieces of metal and plastic crunched under his feet. Looking about, he was startled to see the place was practically leveled. A smooth ruffle behind him caused him to wheel around. In front of him stood none other than Mewtwo, the Genetic Pokémon. Its eyes were closed, but Slate could see an intense purple aura around it, much greater than the aura that surrounded any of Hunt's Pokémon.

Nerving himself, he called out to Mewtwo, "Give up! You won't get away with this, Mewtwo. There are better ways to gain power, and less painful ones too." A low ripple of laughter escaped Mewtwo's lips, and its low hollow voice reverberated throughout the roof of the Tower. "But why? Who's to say what's right and what's wrong? As long as I have this power, this strength, I don't care how it comes about!"

At that, it brought its hand forward, glimmering with the power of an unknown attack, and launched it towards Slate. Slackjawed, he could do nothing as the blaze of light neared him, threatening to take his life. Then, Silver flew in to take the hit. It knocked the Iron Leg Pokémon back into Slate and instantly defeated Silver, who was already exhausted from the battle with Hunt. The last thing Slate noticed before passing out was red eyes surrounding him, and Mewtwo's evil laugh.

Slate moaned as he got back up. Looking around him, he saw he was back in the Underground City, and was in the middle of a battle with a spiky haired punk, who was using a Manectric. Slate's Pikachu was out on the field, and was about to execute the electrified Iron Tail attack when the Manectric suddenly used Bite on its leg.

Pikachu screamed out in pain as the fangs dug deeper and deeper into its flesh. Manectric wasn't finished though. It followed through with a Thunder attack, which coursed through the injured mouse, and tossed the Pikachu back towards Slate. Catching his Pokémon, he saw that its leg was nearly chewed off, and the color was fading from it from blood loss. Slate screamed and blacked out.

When he woke up again, he was witnessing the battle between Hunt and Chrighton. All was going well until the point where Alakazam reversed the tables on Marowak. Instead of calling it back, though, Chrighton simply stared and laughed. Slate was confused beyond words. Then, Marowak began to change shape until it became Gem, and Chrighton became Hunt. All around Slate, people began changing into Hunt.

Gem screamed in agony as Alakazam held her within its mental grip. Slate rushed onto the field, calling out Silver to help him free Gem. As his Pokémon came out, though, it fell apart, leaving Slate staring at a pile of scrap metal that once was his most loyal partner. Gem screamed louder once more before falling to the ground. Slate picked her up, and held her limp body to his chest, sobbing as he did so. Then, Alakazam came at him with a Focus Punch, and he knew no more.

He woke up once more, this time watching Bob and Mary get mutilated by Seviper, who had defeated his Pikachu and stabbed it fatally through the heart. Random images flashed before his eyes, nightmares he had while trying to sleep in the Underground City he never wanted to see again. His darkest fears surfaced to haunt him. Hunt was stabbing Gem when she ran to congratulate Slate on his victory.

Steelix smashed Pikachu and Lapras together, leaving them to die before turning to Slate to catch him in a powerful Crunch attack. Slate screamed and began running from the images that haunted him. He crouched on the floor, wrapping his arms around himself as he sobbed, surrounded by his greatest fears. All throughout, he could hear Mewtwo and Hunt laughing, ever so tauntingly.

Tears streamed unchecked down his cheeks, and he screamed for them to go away. One tear struck the satchel that Gem had given him, then another. He hugged the satchel as he cried. Then, the unexplainable happened. The satchel began glowing with a mysterious light and began to float upwards out of his shocked hands. Glowing ever brighter, it drove away the nightmares that haunted Slate. Finally, it let off one last blast of light, blinding Slate.

Slate woke up with a jerk. He was lying on Silver, who was unconscious from Mewtwo's last blow. All about him, ghost types that had been tormenting Slate with Nightmare and Dream Eater were now cowering in fear. Slate wondered, and looked at Mewtwo, who also had a look of fear etched across its normally emotionless face.

Feeling a strange tugging at his throat, he looked down to see the satchel that had saved him from himself in the depths of his mind glowing, and floating just as it did when he was out. Slowly, it came loose from the cord that bound it to his neck, and began floating higher into the sky, slowly spinning and letting off more light. The ghost Pokémon, scared, hid behind Mewtwo, their apparent leader, their red eyes glowing relentlessly.

The satchel began letting off pulses of light quicker and quicker before it finally exploded in a blast of light. In another flash of light, Slate's entire fallen party emerged from their Poké Balls. Slate looked about in amazement as a shower of tiny shimmering particles fell onto him and his party. Somehow, he felt all the exhaustion from battling, all the aches and pains, just magically burn away in a pulse of heat.

As more particles fell onto his Pokémon, they began glowing until finally, the last speck fell and they each let off a pulse of light. When Slate got his vision back, he was startled to see his Pokémon all standing, and looking perfectly fit as if no damage had been done to them. As this happened, a bird could be heard, calling high in the heavens. Shocked but for a moment, Mewtwo said one word: "Charge!"

The Ghost types bunched together, then attacked. All of Slate's Pokémon, with the exception of Silver, instantly formed a ring around Slate, Silver, and Mewtwo, fighting off the Ghost Pokémon. Catching his eye, Pikachu grinned at Slate before braining a particularly nasty looking Gengar with its Iron Tail.

Getting the message, Slate and Silver turned to face the superpowered Genetic Pokémon. Smiling, Slate asked Silver if it was ready for battle, and received an affirmative response. "Let's do it! Mewtwo! This is your last chance. Give up or get ready for the beating of a lifetime!" "Never!" came the hollow response, before Mewtwo began charging in for a Mega Punch.

Silver slid to the side using Agility and attempted to use a Metal Claw. Mewtwo simply warped out of the way, leaving Silver to slash thin air. Reappearing at the far side of the field, it began to summon a ball of fire between its outstretched hands. Focusing its mind incredibly with the absorbed power of the machine, it magnified the power of the Flamethrower to massive proportions. Slate was ready, though.

Calling for a Rock Tomb, Silver complied, smashing its claw into the ground, forming 4 giant pillars of rock in succession, which the Flamethrower crashed onto. So great was the heat that the first pillar it met melted, but did not meet the second pillar. Instantly cooling, the lava left a large black mark on the ground. Then, Silver launched a counterattack.

Retracting its arms into its body, it initiated the spinning Metal Claw attack, smashing through the three remaining pillars, reducing them to a pile of rubble and dust. Mewtwo immediately braced for impact, but it wasn't to be. Spinning around Mewtwo, Silver initiated a Sandstorm attack. Its rapid motions kicked up the rubble from the demolished pillars into a giant maelstrom of dust, sand, and rocks.

The tornado engulfed Mewtwo, who screamed in pain as the small sand particles ripped at its body, creating small abrasions on the surface of its skin. That wasn't the worst, though. Giant chunks of rock smashed at Mewtwo, threatening to break bones. Then, Silver came in for the kill. Whirling in a devastating Metal Claw attack, Silver slashed relentlessly at the hapless Genetic Pokémon who could do nothing to counter.

Its temper aroused, Mewtwo closed its eyes to focus, and let out a blast of psychic power, sending Silver and the dust tornado into the ground. Silver stood up, ready to combat Mewtwo once again. Using Agility, Silver sped about the field, too fast for the Genetic Pokémon to pin down. Angry, it let out a withering Psychic attack in all directions. Silver retaliated by charging in while using Protect, positioning itself next to Mewtwo. Swinging its arm up in a Metal Claw attack, it launched the surprised enemy into the air.

Then, Silver spun over Mewtwo. Tensing itself for a second, it initiated the deadly Meteormash attack down onto Mewtwo's head. Sensing the impending danger, Mewtwo used Psychic to form a barrier about itself. Steel clashed onto energy as Silver's Meteormash attack collided with the Psychic barrier. Facing off against each other, Mewtwo's eyes were full of anger and hatred. Sparks flew as the meteor-like punch and psychic energy bounced off each other, leveling parts of the field as it did so.

Finally, the pent up energy from the attacks colliding was too great, and both Pokémon were sent to opposite sides of the field in a stalemate as the onlookers duked it out amongst themselves. Charging itself up, Mewtwo threw out a mighty Shadow Ball, enhanced by the powers of the machine. Instead of dodging, though, Silver countered with Psychic. Rather than trying to reverse the attack, Silver shocked Mewtwo by splitting the giant Shadow Ball into smaller Shadow Balls, which it sent into the crowd of Ghost types to aid its fellow companions in battle, who were beginning to get swamped by the never ending swarm of ghost types.

The small Shadow Balls exploded on contact, knocking out countless Ghost types, giving Slate's Pokémon the breathing room they needed to defend the battlefield. Mewtwo, shocked for a moment, roared in anger, but was cut off by a sharp pain in its body.

Slate was surprised by this sudden movement, but then noticed that Mewtwo's body was covered with sweat, and the Genetic Pokémon was trembling. Bob's voice suddenly floated to the top of his mind, saying: "The results, though, are disastrous. It completely depletes a Pokémon, and if used too much, can cause so much stress that it can kill the Pokémon in question. It's the perfect weapon, sure, but is it worth it?"

Slate realized that Mewtwo was exhausted. The stress of absorbing the machine's full power was inevitably greater than simply being a pawn of its strength. Mewtwo was feeling the stress full force, and if nothing was done about it, it would die of exhaustion. Realizing that Mewtwo was simply a pawn of Hunt's sick game, Slate resolved to free it of the machine's influence.

Taking advantage of the Genetic Pokémon's moment of weakness, Slate called for a Meteormash. Already powered up by Agility, Silver fairly flew into the attack, sending its glowing claw in for the deadly attack and smashing Mewtwo into the ground. Mewtwo screamed in agony as the sharp golden claws dug into its chest, but could do nothing, its focus fluctuating with every turn.

A red aura surrounded Silver for a second, then disappeared. Satisfied, Slate called for the end of the battle. "Silver, Shadow Ball!" he shouted. Mewtwo's eyes widened in horror as the cross on Silver's face began to glow with a dark aura, and began sparking menacingly. The ball of dark energy formed in front of its face, and with a roar, Silver brought down the fully charged Shadow Ball, powered up by the attack bonus from Meteormash (hence the red aura).

The Ghost attack ripped through Mewtwo, relentlessly torturing it. Finally, Mewtwo gave in and fell into blissful unconsciousness. The purple aura that surrounded it began to pulse erratically before blowing out of Mewtwo's body for good, sending Silver flying as it did so. The crowd of Ghost Pokémon, now released from Mewtwo's mind control during its period of insanity, faded into the woodwork.

Slate's Pokémon rushed to his side, facing Mewtwo in case it got up. Slate, smiling, said, "It's over guys. There's nothing to worry about from Mewtwo anymore. It's free." Looking at Slate for a second, his Pokémon seemed doubtful. Then, they broke into cheer. Without warning, Mewtwo began to stir. His Pokémon tensed, but Slate was not worried. The Genetic Pokémon stood, but stumbled. Slate ran over to catch it, and it looked at Slate gratefully.

It uttered two words: "Thank you…" Then, it disappeared, leaving Slate clutching thin air. He smiled. "Any day. It's my duty…" Slate's Pokémon rushed over to him, jubilated that they had won the final battle. The sun was setting on a war ravaged landscape, but the sun always rises the next day. That day would be one of rebuilding. Slate smiled. Then, a wind blew by, and a scrap of cloth landed on his outstretched hand. It was from the satchel.

Looking at it momentarily, he cast it into the air. Then, he called back all his Pokémon but Salamence, which he climbed on. The dragon took flight once more, this time flying into the setting sun. Slate had a promise to keep.

* * *

The next day, the radio on the PokéNav was blaring as two people lounged on a beach. "Yesterday, the battle between our League Champion and the deranged criminal Hunt was waged, with none other than the League Champion emerging victorious. The Champion, who was slandered for months, was battling it out in the Underground Ring, trying to help us above ground by defeating Hunt.

Shortly after he won, Slate departed on his Metagross, named Silver, in the direction of the Pokémon Tower as authorities apprehended Hunt. Slate then battled none other than Mewtwo, who was captured by Hunt, and won. Hunt now faces charges of conspiracy and treason. His trial is set to be on the -"

The young man cut off the radio broadcast, and turned to the young woman at his side. "Well, I think they summed it up pretty well, don't you Gem?" "Slate, if you ask me, that guy Hunt's getting off easy! They really didn't do you justice," replied the woman named Gem. Slate simply laughed and put his arm over her shoulders and watched their Pokémon play. Then, the PokéNav began to ring. Slate picked up the call, which was from the League Chairman.

"Slate, it's good to see you in one piece again!"

"Likewise, Sir."

"I really don't know how to thank you enough. If there's anything you want, money, publicity, anything, I'm willing to give it to you. I'm sure the general public is as well. You've earned it."

Slate looked at the young woman resting by his side and smiled. "No, sir, I don't think anything's necessary. I've got all I need right here." "So be it. I've got to rush to the news conference, so I'll see you later at the party?" "Party? Oh, yeah! Of course, the party! Yes, I'll see you there." The call was terminated. "Slate, you never told me about any party!" a furious Gem shouted.

"I forgot! But since we're talking about it, would you like to accompany me?" a sheepish Slate asked. Blushing, Gem nodded. "Great! It's a date! Come on, I haven't had a chance to play in the sand in years!" "League Champion, huh? I've seen five year olds with more sense," Gem teased. "Oh really?" Slate dragged Gem into the surf and began to splash her. Spluttering, she splashed him back. The beach rang with their laughter as they played while their Pokémon watched, smiles on their faces.

* * *

Well, for a first fanfic, I think I did rather OK. I'm not going to say I did well, since there's a heck of a lot that I can improve on this with. Anyways, I hope you liked the ending! Leave a review! Also, I'm debating whether or not to post up the sequel to this story of mine. Input is always welcome!


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